When Is Sitting on the Job a Required Accommodation?

Employers sometimes object to workers with disabilities sitting on the job, raising concerns that include professionalism, safety, and feasibility. Regardless of their concern, employers should discuss possible accommodations with the worker requesting the accommodation and not reject the seating request out of hand.

“Seating may be reasonable in some cases and not in others,” said Mike McClory, an attorney with Cable Huston in Portland, Ore.

Some of the most common roles involving employee requests for a seating accommodation that the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) hears about include cashier, bank teller, teacher, and production line worker, said Lisa Mathess, principal consultant and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specialist at JAN in Morgantown, W.Va.

“Appropriate and accessible seating can make both work and breaks more pleasant and less fatiguing for all employees but can be essential in allowing employees with disabilities to manage their medical conditions and comply with medical restrictions,” said Teresa Goddard, lead consultant in assistive technology services with JAN.

Employers should not require employees to stand when a disability may impede that function and the employee can perform their essential job functions from a chair, said Amy Epstein Gluck, an attorney with Pierson Ferdinand in Washington, D.C.

Concerns About Seating

Nonetheless, some employers have concerns involving seating as an accommodation.

Some believe standing projects a more professional appearance, Goddard noted. However, the employer should review whether someone can perform the job effectively from a seated position, she added.

“We often suggest implementing accommodations on a trial basis, which can benefit both the employee and the employer,” Goddard said. “For example, implementing a temporary change offers the opportunity to evaluate an accommodation for effectiveness before making the decision to implement the change long term.”

But if the seating creates a hazard in the work environment—a direct threat to health and safety—it might not be a reasonable accommodation, said Robin Shea, an attorney with Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Obstruction could be a real concern in a manufacturing environment, where there may be not only employees, but also motorized equipment like forklifts and pallet jacks needing to pass through.”

If the position is mobile—such as a hospital nurse or wait staff—it could be difficult to provide seating as an accommodation except during breaks because of the nature of those jobs, Shea said.

That said, if the position is stationary, like a machine operator or a cashier, it may be fairly easy to provide seating, Shea added. “In those situations, the main concern would probably be that the seating might block aisles where other employees need to be able to pass through,” she noted.

Opening the Floodgates?

Another concern is opening the floodgates for requests if some employees are allowed to sit.

“Most people understandably would prefer to be seated for at least part of the workday,” Shea said. “So, I suspect that many employers fear that if they provide seating as an accommodation to one employee, suddenly everyone else will be bringing doctors’ notes saying that they should have seating, too.”

This perceived fairness concern “should not prevent the employer from making reasonable accommodations as required by law,” said Carolyn Rashby, an attorney with Covington in San Francisco.

“To address any fairness concerns,” she said, “employers could consider whether to make seating available at certain intervals to all employees in a particular position, assuming it’s feasible to do so.”

Who Might Need to Sit?

A wide variety of employees might need seating as an accommodation.

For example, individuals with a back injury, degenerative disease condition, or prosthetic leg are a few of the many examples of people with disabilities who might need to sit on the job, noted Brian East, senior attorney with Disability Rights Texas, headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, Rashby noted. Providing employees the ability to sit is one of many potential accommodations under the PWFA, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

As for persons with disabilities, “we see seating requested as an accommodation for an array of circumstances, which can include back and hip impairments, but also conditions that cause fatigue such as long COVID, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, or gastrointestinal disorders,” Mathess said.

Seating can also be helpful for employees with respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Goddard added.

“These are simply a few examples of circumstances in which seating accommodations may be needed,” she said.

Vetting Requests

Requests for seating accommodation should be treated the same as any request for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, Shea said.

Employers first should confirm that the employee has a genuine medical need for the accommodation if the need isn’t obvious. Next, determine whether and to what extent a seating accommodation is feasible, given the employee’s job duties and work environment, she said.

Then, grant the requested accommodation or, if that isn’t possible, speak with the employee to determine whether other accommodations are possible.

That may include seating for shorter periods or a transfer to a more sedentary job that is vacant and for which the employee is qualified. Denying the accommodation is a last resort. The employer should document the entire process and the rationale for its decision, Shea said.

“If a particular job requires workers to stand or walk, the employer should make this clear in the job description, policy materials, and training,” Rashby said. “Doing so can lend support to an argument that standing or walking is required for an employee to perform the essential functions of the job.”

When the essential functions of the job prohibit a seating accommodation and permitting the worker to sit would require eliminating essential job functions, the employee may not be a qualified individual protected by the ADA, she said.