As codified under N.Y. Lab. Law § 201-g(2), employers in the state of New York are mandated to provide their employees with training on how to prevent sexual harassment. Notably, pursuant to this statute, the training must (1) include information concerning options for remedies, (2) explain sexual harassment in detail, (3) include examples of unlawful conduct, and (4) be interactive.
To move this discussion forward, this blog post reviews what New York law says about including a policy concerning workers with disabilities in employee handbooks.
Inclusion of a Disability Policy in Employee Handbooks
Today, the U.S. has made great strides in protecting individuals living and working with disabilities. For instance, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), as codified under 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5), prohibits discrimination against any employee who (1) has a disability, (2) is a qualified individual, and (3) has the ability to perform a job’s essential functions with or without a reasonable accommodation. As we have discussed in our past blogs, disabilities covered by the ADA include(1) a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial limitation on one or more major activities of life, (2) being regarded as having such an impairment, and (3) a record of having such an impairment.
In fact, “disability” is one of the classes protected under (1) the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), (2) the New York Equal Pay Act (effective as of October 8, 2019), and (3) the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). This implies that employers must remain compliant with what the law requires when it comes to employees with disabilities. Among other things, employers in New York are required to ensure that a policy on such employees has been included in their employee handbooks.
As codified under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, the policy is required to expressly note that the employer is compliant with the NYSHRL, through which covered employers in the state are prohibited from declining or rejecting to provide reasonable accommodations to employees’ known disabilities. Indeed, as provided for under the NYC Administrative Code § 8-107, subd. 15(a), employers are mandated by the NYCHRL to provide an unpaid intern and employees with a reasonable accommodation so that such an individual can satisfy a job’s essential requirements, given that the employer knows about the disability or the disability is known.
However, while they should not impose undue hardships on employees, as set forth under N.Y. Exec. Law § 292, measures taken by employers to enable employees with disabilities to fulfill the duties of their jobs are known as reasonable accommodations. As provided for under N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(21), an employer is mandated by the NYSHRL to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability. We also added that under N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(21-e), “reasonable accommodation” implies taking steps that, while not imposing undue hardship on how the employer conducts business, would allow an employee with a disability to perform the duties of their job reasonably.
However, it goes without saying that if the accommodation would impose an undue hardship upon the employer, as provided for under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(3)(b) of the NYSHRL, an employer may refuse to provide an employee with a disability with an accommodation. Nonetheless, the law provides a range of factors that may determine whether an employer should provide an accommodation or not and the reasonability of the accommodation itself, including (1) the reasonability or convenience of the accommodation for the employer, (2) the effects it has on other employees and the problems, costs, and hardships it will cause for the employer, and (3) the benefit or efficacy the accommodation provides in eliminating the performance impediments that the disability causes.
As usual, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and education. In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, please let us know at the Contact Us page!
Always Rising Above the Bar,
Isaac T.,
Legal Writer, Author, and Publisher.