Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Job Restructuring

Job restructuring includes modifications such as:

An employer never has to reallocate essential functions as a reasonable accommodation, but can do so if it wishes.

• reallocating or redistributing marginal job functions that an employee is unable to perform because of a disability; and

• altering when and/or how a function, essential or marginal, is performed.⁽⁴⁷⁾

16. If, as a reasonable accommodation, an employer restructures an employee's job to eliminate some marginal functions, may the employer require the employee to take on other marginal functions that s/he can perform?

Yes. An employer may switch the marginal functions of two (or more) employees in order to restructure a job as a reasonable accommodation.

Example: A cleaning crew works in an office building. One member of the crew wears a prosthetic leg which enables him to walk very well, but climbing steps is painful and difficult. Although he can perform his essential functions without problems, he cannot perform the marginal function of sweeping the steps located throughout the building. The marginal functions of a second crew member include cleaning the small kitchen in the employee's lounge, which is something the first crew member can perform. The employer can switch the marginal functions performed by these two employees.