More and more employers are confronting and seeking guidance in responding to requests from employees for accommodations to address temporary health conditions.

Recent appellate case decisions, the interpretation of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of its regulations, and an expansive view of the requirement to provide such accommodations, signal that a practical approach for employers faced with such a request from employees who have suffered a temporary injury or illness is not to reject an accommodation request out-of-hand, but to find temporary arrangements to allow the employee to keep working during the duration of the transitory recovery period or at least during the time while the request is being evaluated.

Employers who take a more draconian approach run the risk of failing to accommodate an actual disability albeit a temporary one, or potentially finding themselves facing a retaliation claim, even if the employee is adjudged not to have a disability requiring the accommodation sought.