1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to employment; requiring a job accommodation request form for an
1.3 employee with a known disability;amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, 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 2022, 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 create 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 minimum, the form must allow an employee who discloses
2.20 a disability to identify the limitations resulting from the disability and any potential
2.21 reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations.
