Articles Tagged with reasonable accommodation in New Jersey

In a recent New Jersey employment law decision regarding disability discrimination and employer’s duty to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, a New Jersey appeals court explained in the case of Gould v. New Jersey Department of Transportation the requirement for employers to engage in a good faith “interactive process” with their disabled employees to determine what reasonable accommodations can be provided to allow the employee to continue working.

Background

Leroy Gould worked for the New Jersey Department of Transportation from 2001 until he retired in 2021.  He was a transit planner and coordinator, coordinating bus and rail service.  In 2012, Gould was diagnosed with prostate cancer, undergoing surgery and radiation which caused incontinence.  As a result, he usually had to go to the restroom immediately upon arrival to work.  He drove to a main parking lot, then took an employee van to his office building; the drop-off point was only a two-minute walk, which worked fine.  He was allowed to wear jeans because the fabric soaked up urine quickly and prevented rashes, and he received a standup desk because of vascular issues.