Legal Definitions - Undue hardship

Undue hardship refers to a significant difficulty or expense that an employer would face if required to provide a specific adjustment or modification for an employee, typically due to a disability or religious belief. This difficulty or expense must be so substantial that it would fundamentally alter the nature of the business or impose an unreasonable burden on its operations. It's a legal standard used to determine if an employer can be excused from providing an accommodation.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Financial Burden for a Small Business

  A small, independent coffee shop with only three employees and tight profit margins hires a new barista who uses a wheelchair. To accommodate the barista, the shop would need to install a custom-built, accessible counter and widen the restroom door, costing an estimated $25,000. This expense represents more than half of the shop's annual net profit and would require them to take out a significant loan, jeopardizing the business's solvency. In this scenario, the cost of the requested modifications could be considered an undue hardship for the small business, as it poses an unreasonable financial burden.

• Example 2: Operational Disruption in a Critical Service

  A small, rural emergency medical clinic operates 24/7 with a strict minimum staffing requirement of one doctor and two nurses per shift to ensure patient safety. A newly hired nurse requests to be excused from all shifts on Sundays for religious observance. Granting this request would leave the clinic critically understaffed on Sundays, as there are no other qualified nurses available to cover, directly compromising patient care and violating safety regulations. The clinic could argue that this request constitutes an undue hardship because it would cause significant operational disruption and jeopardize the essential safety of its patients.

• Example 3: Fundamental Alteration of an Essential Job Function

  A commercial airline pilot develops a medical condition that legally prohibits them from operating aircraft. They request an accommodation to continue working as a pilot by having another pilot fly the plane while they sit in the co-pilot seat and manage communications. The airline could argue that this request represents an undue hardship because the essential function of a pilot's job is to safely operate the aircraft. Allowing a pilot who cannot fly to remain in that role would fundamentally alter the nature of the job and compromise flight safety standards, which is an unreasonable burden for the airline.