The EEOC and the DFEH determine if a particular accommodation imposes an undue hardship on a case-by-case basis. In general, a larger employer is expected to undertake greater efforts and expense to provide accommodation than a smaller employer. If a particular accommodation results in undue hardship, you must provide an alternative accommodation so long as the alternative is available and doesn’t cause undue hardship.

Consider the following factors when you determine if undue hardship exists:

• The nature and cost of the accommodation;2
• The overall financial resources of the facility involved in providing the accommodation, the number of people employed at the facility, the effect on the facility’s expenses and resources and any additional impact the accommodation might have upon the facility’s operation;3
• The facility’s type of operation, including the workforce’s composition, structure and functions;4
• The availability of state, federal or local tax incentives;
• The amount of assistance available from other agencies or organizations, including the California Department of Rehabilitation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other private and public agencies concerned with the physically and mentally disabled; and
• The geographic separateness of the facility involved in providing the accommodation.5

Employers must use caution when considering undue hardship, as this is a legal standard that's difficult to meet. Generalized conclusions aren't sufficient to claim undue hardship. Employers should be able to articulate, based on the previously listed factors, why a proposed accommodation is an undue hardship.

• For example, in a recent Ninth Circuit case, a group of Washington State firefighters sued their employer for failing to accommodate their vaccine exemption requests. In response, their employer presented detailed testimony from executives and experts on the costs to health and safety (both for the employee and the general public), business operations and business finances. This case is a good example of how deliberate, detailed and thorough employers must be in exploring reasonable accommodations and making undue hardship determinations.6

• California’s disability regulations require employers to engage in the interactive process before determining that an undue hardship exists.7 Consider consulting legal counsel prior to making an undue hardship determination.

1. 42 U.S.C. 12111(10); Govt. Code sec. 12926

2. 42 U.S.C. 12111(10); Govt. Code sec. 12926

3. 42 U.S.C. 12111(10); Govt. Code sec. 12926

4. 42 U.S.C. 12111(10); Govt. Code sec. 12926

5. 2 CCR sec. 11065(r)(5)

6. Petersen v. Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue, No. 24-1044 (9th Cir. 2025)

7. 2 CCR sec. 11068(d)(5)