Q:
I have a couple questions about reasonable accommodation. Can an agency create a position to accommodate? Also, can an agency accommodate by reassigning an employee to a detail (a position that does not exist)? From the research I have done it states that reassigning an employee must be to a “vacant funded position.”
A:
Your research is accurate. Agencies are given significant flexibility in providing reasonable accommodations to their employees. It is within an agency’s discretion whether to create a position for which to reassign an employee or to place an employee on detail (essentially a temporary reassignment to a new position), if such reassignment would reasonably accommodate the employee’s medical needs. But, an agency is not obligated to exercise that discretion. An agency is only obligated to reassign an employee if there is a vacant, funded position available, and if reassignment to that position will reasonably accommodate the employee’s medication needs.
This response is written by James P. Garay Heelan, associate attorney of Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm.
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