Reminder to Employers: When an employee discloses a disability, employers have a duty to engage in the interactive process and to provide a reasonable accommodation.
However, as the Second Circuit recently re-affirmed in Johnson v. Loreal, an employee may not prevail in a failure to accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), where the employee cannot demonstrate the existence of a reasonable accommodation that would have allowed them to perform the essential functions of the job.
The Second Circuit also re-affirmed that neither the ADA nor the NYSHRL excuses workplace misconduct, even if the misconduct is related to, or was caused in part as a result of, a disability.