Janae Ruppert
by Janae Ruppert
As an employer, you exhaustingly hear the repeated recommendation to not only have detailed written policies, but to ensure those policies are followed. Company policies generally ensure compliance with laws and regulations, give guidance for decision-making, and streamline internal processes. Typically, employers can overcome significant consequences by consistently enforcing their policies and procedures.
However, when confronted with accommodation situations, sometimes employers need to step away from the policies and conduct a deeper factual analysis to support a decision. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently provided useful guidance on how to properly address an accommodation request which may violate an internal policy. The court sent a case back for a trial after finding that just because a corrections officer’s requested accommodation violated the employer’s neutral policy, inconsistency with the policy by itself, did not render the request unreasonable. Read more
