1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to human rights;
requiring a job accommodation request form for an
1.3 employee with a known
disability;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section
1.4 363A.08, subdivision 6.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 363A.08, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
1.7 Subd. 6.Reasonable
accommodation. (a) Except when based on a bona fide occupational
1.8 qualification, it is an
unfair employment practice for an employer with a number of part-time
1.9 or full-time employees for
each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the
1.10 current or preceding calendar
year equal to or greater than 25 effective July 1, 1992, and
1.11 equal to or greater than 15
effective July 1, 1994, an employment agency, or a labor
1.12 organization, not to provide a
reasonable accommodation for a job applicant or qualified
1.13 employee with a disability
unless the employer, agency, or organization can demonstrate
1.14 that the accommodation would
impose an undue hardship on the business, agency, or
1.15 organization. "Reasonable
accommodation" means steps which must be taken to
1.16 accommodate the known physical
or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a
1.17 disability. To determine the
appropriate reasonable accommodation the employer, agency,
1.18 or organization shall, upon
request, provide a job accommodation request form to an
1.19 individual who discloses
a disability in need of accommodation and initiate an informal,
1.20 interactive process with the
individual with a disability in need of the accommodation. This
1.21 process should identify the
limitations resulting from the disability and any potential
1.22 reasonable accommodations that
could overcome those limitations. "Reasonable
1.23 accommodation" may include
but is not limited to, nor does it necessarily require: (1) making
1.24 facilities readily accessible
to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and (2) job
2.1 restructuring, modified work
schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or
2.2 modification of equipment or
devices, and the provision of aides on a temporary or periodic
2.3 basis.
2.4 (b) In determining whether an
accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the
2.5 operation of a business or
organization, factors to be considered include:
2.6 (1) the overall size of the
business or organization with respect to number of employees
2.7 or members and the number and
type of facilities;
2.8 (2) the type of the
operation, including the composition and structure of the work force,
2.9 and the number of employees at
the location where the employment would occur;
2.10 (3) the nature and cost of the
needed accommodation;
2.11 (4) the reasonable ability to
finance the accommodation at each site of business; and
2.12 (5) documented good faith
efforts to explore less restrictive or less expensive alternatives,
2.13 including consultation with the
disabled person or with knowledgeable disabled persons or
2.14 organizations.
2.15 A prospective employer need not
pay for an accommodation for a job applicant if it is
2.16 available from an alternative
source without cost to the employer or applicant.
2.17 (c) The commissioner shall
develop and make available a job accommodation request
2.18 form for use and
distribution by an employer, agency, or organization subject to the
2.19 requirements of
paragraph (a). At a minimum, the form must allow an employee who
2.20 discloses a disability
to identify the limitations resulting from the disability and any potential
2.21 reasonable
accommodations that could overcome those limitations.
