Raine v. City of Burbank

Does an employer who reassigns an employee to a temporary light- duty position to accommodate the employees injury have an affirmative obligation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code section 12900 et seq. (FEHA), to make that temporary light-duty assignment available indefinitely once the employees temporary disability becomes permanent? In addressing a similar question under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the federal circuit courts of appeals have uniformly held the duty to provide reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee does not obligate the employer to convert a temporary light-duty position into a permanent one when doing so would, in effect, create a new position. We agree with the reasoning expressed in those cases and hold the answer is no different under the accommodation requirements of FEHA. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment entered following the trial courts grant of summary judgment in this FEHA action for disability discrimination and failure to accommodate on the ground the permanent accommodation sought by the employee in this action was unreasonable as a matter of law.