Q&A: When a personal safety incident affects an employee’s commute, does the ADA require a schedule accommodation?
Question
We have two shifts — a morning shift and an evening shift. Yesterday, our Operations Manager spoke with a morning-shift employee who says she was nearly abducted on her way to work this morning near her house. She expressed to the Manager that she feels unsafe leaving her house early, when it is dark, to get to work for her 6:30 a.m. shift start. She does not think she is able to get here until 9am, which is after the first shift. The Manager has offered the employee sick leave to leave early today, and she will cover her morning shift tomorrow as the employee appears to be distressed about the incident.
HR has not spoken directly with the morning-shift employee or received any formal request for accommodation. They do not currently have a shift that starts at 9 a.m., and that would leave them without coverage on the first shift. The employee who works the evening shift Wednesday through Saturday has had this schedule for years, possibly his entire tenure. The employee who had the traumatic incident also attends classes and may have limited flexibility to pick up evening shifts. What are our options?
Answer
ADA basics: Disability, qualification, and reasonable accommodation
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits disability discrimination in the full range of employment and personnel practices. To be protected by the ADA, an individual must have a disability, and the individual must be qualified to perform the essential functions of the job in question, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Under the ADA, a “disability” is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the individual’s major life activities. A mitigating measure (i.e., medication or a device that improves an impairment) cannot be considered when determining whether an impairment is a disability. The definition of a disability also includes having a record of such impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment (42 USC 12102(3)).
A person who satisfies the prerequisites for the position (i.e., the appropriate education, employment experience, or licenses) and can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation is considered an individual who is qualified.
Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities.
What are “essential functions”?
“Essential functions” are the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation. Each job should be carefully analyzed to determine which functions are essential to its performance. According to the EEOC, factors to consider in determining if a function is essential include:
- Whether the reason the position exists is to perform that function
- The number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the performance of the function can be distributed
- The degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function
The ADA requires that employers provide reasonable accommodation for the known disability of a qualified individual, unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business (42 USC 12102 et seq.)
Does the ADA cover commute-related accommodations?
While the ADA covers a broad spectrum of accommodations, it does not explicitly address whether employers must provide reasonable accommodations for an employee for transportation to and from work. Courts have ruled both ways on this issue.
Employers are generally not required to provide transportation for employees with disabilities, such as paying for a ride or offering a company vehicle. However, there may be some accommodations that employers must consider related to difficulty commuting. While employers do not have to actually transport an employee with a disability to and from work (unless the employer provides employee transportation to and from work as a perk of employment), employers may need to consider providing accommodations such as changing an employee’s schedule so they can access available transportation or reassigning an employee to a location closer to their home.
Key case law and EEOC guidance
In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held, in EEOC v. Charter Communications, 75 F.4th 729 (7th Cir. 2023), that the employer was required to provide a schedule accommodation to an employee who experienced difficulty driving at night due to a vision impairment. The Charter Court found that, because the employee’s disability substantially interfered with his ability to travel to and from work, and because commuting to work was a prerequisite to the essential job function of attendance, the employee was entitled to a work schedule accommodation that would allow him to drive only during the daytime. The court also took note of the fact that the employee experienced difficulty in accessing the workplace because of their work schedule, over which the employer had control as it related to scheduling the employee for shifts throughout the week. The court distinguished the plaintiff’s need for a commute accommodation from other cases in which employees were not entitled to accommodations based on the fact that they lived far from the workplace, a variable that was within the employee’s control.
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in February 2026 reiterating the Charter Court’s holding, providing that employers may be required to consider flexible work schedules to enable a qualified employee with a disability to effectively accomplish their commute and access the workplace.
How does the accommodation request process work?
The accommodation process typically begins when a disabled individual requests some change to the way the employee performs the job or to the provision of employment benefits. Generally, it is the disabled individual’s responsibility to alert the employer to any need for an accommodation, particularly for disabilities that are not obvious. The employer has to accommodate only the “known” disabilities of an otherwise qualified individual. See 42 U.S.C. §12112(b)(5)(A); Interpretive Guidance to the ADA, 29 C.F.R. §1630.9(a), 29 C.F.R. Part 1630, Appx.
However, the disabled employee does not have to use any “magic” words or mention the ADA specifically to request an accommodation. Instead, the employee only has to use “plain English” and give enough information to alert the employer that the employee needs an adjustment or change at work because the employee has a medical condition.
An employer should initiate the reasonable accommodation interactive process without being asked if the employer: (1) knows that the employee has a disability, (2) knows, or has reason to know, that the employee is experiencing workplace problems because of the disability, and (3) knows, or has reason to know, that the disability prevents the employee from requesting a reasonable accommodation. If the individual with a disability states that s/he does not need a reasonable accommodation, the employer will have fulfilled its obligation.
How does this apply to the current situation?
All of this being said, it does not appear that the employee has indicated that they have a disability limiting their ability to report to work on time, rather it seems to be more of a personal safety issue. However, it may be a good idea to ask this employee if they have any medical issues (note that mental health conditions can qualify as disabilities), limiting their ability to travel to work at their regularly scheduled time. If they do indicate a medical condition, this employer may want to engage in the interactive process.
If this employee is not protected by the ADA (or the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, which also has similar reasonable accommodation requirements), the employer could ask the other employee if they would be open to a schedule change, though this would not be legally required. While the employer could require a schedule change, they may not want to do so if this is a valued, long-term employee. If relocation of the first employee to another location is feasible, that could be another possibility to help out this employee should the employer wish to do so from an employee relations perspective. The first employee could also be encouraged to explore alternative means of getting to work, such as being accompanied by a family member or friend, or getting a ride from someone they can rely on or a ride-share service.
Consult legal counsel
Making determinations regarding the existence of a disability, reasonable accommodations and undue hardship under the ADA requires an assessment of the specific facts in a particular situation. As the HR Hotline does not provide legal advice and because there are complex issues involved in such scenarios, we recommend consultation with legal counsel who will be able to review the specific facts and circumstances and provide legal advice accordingly.
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