Daniel Schwartz on a decision this month called Curry v. Goodman: "the Connecticut Supreme Court today held, in an issue of first impression, that employers have a duty to provide a reasonable accommodation to disabled workers under state law, even though the law does not explicitly say so." A noteworthy aspect of the ruling is that the Connecticut legislature had "ignored various bills that have been proposed over the years ... to add reasonable accommodation language to the statute" -- which now doesn't seem to matter, since the court is willing to declare victory for the disabled-rights enforcers without that little formality. The practical significance goes beyond simply providing duplicative coverage on matters already reached by the federal ADA; Connecticut's conjured-up duty to accommodate reaches smaller employers (3-14 employees), unlike its federal counterpart. Beyond that, Schwartz notes, the Court in Hartford found "that state law imposes a duty on employers to engage in an 'interactive process' [when accommodation is requested] -- a term of art found in the Americans with Disabilities Act regulations."
Connecticut high court finds "implicit" employer duty to accommodate disabled
Related Entries:
- Around the web, June 7
- Around the web, March 14
- Around the web, January 11
- Around the web, December 10
- Antoninetti v. Chipotle
- Around the web, July 27
- Around the web, July 26
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- EEOC publishes new ADA regulations
- Sotomayor and the ADA/bar-exam case
- Testimony from the Senate GOP hearing on legal reform
- ADA Amendments Act of 2008, cont'd
- ADA Amendment Act of 2008
- "Legislating to the fringe"
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| Isaac Gorodetski Project Manager, Center for Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute igorodetski@manhattan-institute.org |
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| Bridget Carroll Press Officer, Manhattan Institute bcarroll@manhattan-institute.org |



