1	Undue Hardship Prepared By John Patrick Evans, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor – Corporate Consultant Washington State Department Social and Health Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation EvansJP@dshs.wa.gov 2003
2	Undue Hardship Undue hardship refers to any accommodation that would be unduly costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business.
3	Undue Hardship A covered entity is obligated to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on the operations of the covered entity's business.
4	Undue Hardship
5	Undue Hardship An employer cannot simply assert that a needed accommodation will cause it undue hardship and thereupon be relieved of the duty to provide accommodation. Rather, an employer will have to present evidence and demonstrate that the accommodation will in fact, cause it undue hardship.
6	Undue Hardship Undue Hardship is generally defined as “requiring significant difficulty or expense.” Criteria used to establish this defense include: Size of business Size of budget Nature of its operation Number of employees Composition and structure of its work force Nature and cost of the accommodation
7	Undue Hardship Factors to consider when determining undue hardship include: (i) The nature and net cost of the accommodation needed taking into consideration the availability of tax credits and deductions, and/or outside funding; (ii) The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, and the effect on expenses and resources.
8	Undue Hardship Factors to consider when determining undue hardship include: (iii) The overall financial resources of the covered entity, the overall size of the business of the covered entity with respect to the number of its employees, and the number, type and location of its facilities; (iv) The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure and functions of the work force of such entity.
9	Undue Hardship Factors to consider when determining undue hardship include: (v) The geographical separateness and administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity; (vi) The impact of the accommodation upon the operation of the facility, including the impact on the ability of other employees to perform their duties and the impact on the facility’s ability to conduct business.
10	Undue Hardship Comparison of the cost of an accommodation to the employee’s salary is not a factor in determining undue hardship.
11	Undue Hardship A negative effect on morale, by itself, is not sufficient to meet the undue hardship standard.
12	Undue Hardship Terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may be relevant to determining if a proposed accommodation poses an undue hardship. Employers and unions may not raise a provision of a CBA as an absolute bar to providing a reasonable accommodation. If an employer determines that a particular accommodation raises a direct conflict with the CBA, s/he should consider whether there are any other possible effective accommodations that would not conflict with the CBA.
13	Undue Hardship If an employer can show that the cost of the accommodation would impose an undue hardship, the covered entity would still be required to provide the accommodation if the funding is available from other sources e.g., state vocational rehabilitation agency, return-to-work program, agency revolving funds, or public and private resources.
14	Undue Hardship If the cost of an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer, the individual with a disability should be given the option of providing the accommodation or paying that portion of the cost which would constitute an undue hardship.
15	Undue Hardship Written justification, signed by the employers appointing authority or designated personnel, must be provided for any decision not to provide a reasonable accommodation because of undue hardship.