California Court Requires Employers to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Employees Who Are “Associated With” a Disabled Person
MSK Client Alert
April 14, 2016
The California Court of Appeal, in its highly controversial opinion in Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, held that under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), an employer’s duty to provide reasonable accommodations applies not only to disabled employees and applicants, but also to employees and applicants who are “associated with” a disabled person. No other published California case has held that the FEHA requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to employees or applicants based on their association with a disabled person.