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For California employers, who are subject to both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an employee has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more of the major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having an impairment. The definition of a disability is broader under FEHA than under the ADA.
Neither the ADA nor FEHA contain a definitive list of medical conditions that constitute disabilities. Therefore, the issue of whether an employee has a disability will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
In the case of fragrance sensitivity, an individual’s respiratory or skin allergy reactions may be severe enough to limit major life activities (i.e. breathing, working) and therefore qualify as a protected disability. If so, the employer would be required to reasonably accommodate the employee’s disability unless it is an undue hardship to do so.
For more information, see Disabilities and Accessibility in the HR Library.