Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace Under NJLAD: What Employers Need to Know
Mar 19, 2026 | Written by: | Share
Employee accommodation issues often present challenges. When an employee raises a medical concern, asks for a change, or mentions a limitation impacting his/her work, the employer has to respond quickly. Requests may seem straightforward at first, but how employers respond in these situations can have a significant impact on workplace operations and litigation exposure.
Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. Knowing when this duty arises and how to respond is critical.
Reasonable accommodations involve changes or adjustments that enable individuals with disabilities to apply for positions, perform essential job functions, and enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. This can include modified duties and work schedules, leaves of absence for treatment, allowing the use of support animals, making facilities accessible, or even job reassignment.
These issues can be highly fact-specific. Therefore, employers should avoid blanket approaches to reasonable accommodation requests and should not make assumptions about a particular diagnosis. Instead, employers should focus on the employee’s actual limitations and the actual requirements of the position when assessing whether or not to grant reasonable accommodation requests.
The NJLAD does not require employers to provide every accommodation requested, nor does it require employers to provide the exact or preferred accommodation. What it does require is a good-faith effort to assess the request and determine whether a reasonable and effective accommodation is available. Once an employer is aware that an accommodation may be needed, it should engage in an interactive process with the employee to understand his/her limitations and essential job functions, and evaluate possible accommodations.
This process is often where employers either reduce or increase their litigation exposure. A delayed response, a hasty denial, unreasonable or unnecessary requests to verify apparent diagnoses, or a failure to consider reasonable alternative accommodations can open the door to litigation. In contrast, prompt, well-documented, and reasonable responses help demonstrate a good-faith interactive process. In many cases, the strength of an employer’s process matters just as much as the accommodation decision itself.
It is important to note that the NJLAD does not require employers to eliminate essential duties or create entirely new positions. Nor does it require accommodations that would impose an undue hardship. Whether accommodations rise to the level of undue hardship depends on the facts, the nature and cost of the accommodation, the employer’s resources, the structure, the scope of work, and the extent to which the request would interfere with core job requirements.
If your business or organization is facing an accommodation issue, experienced employment attorneys at Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C. can help you assess your obligations under the NJLAD, navigate the interactive process, and respond in a way that is both practical and legally sound.
Benjamin V. Klein, Esq., is an associate with Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C., and concentrates his practice on employment law, civil rights litigation, and general litigation.
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Any statements made herein are solely for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.