When is Business Necessity a Necessity: How Status and Limitation Influence Accommodations

Recent discrimination court cases regarding disability and pregnancy accommodations in the workplace have brought to light questions regarding inconsistency in outcomes of such cases. One possible answer to these questions may be the role that “business necessity” and “essential duties'' play in whether or not a disabled or pregnant employee is granted accommodation. The current study sought to explore potential bias in such perceptions. HR professionals were presented with repeated measure vignettes and asked to make decisions about whether they would accommodate pregnant or disabled applicants of various statuses and types of accommodations. Analyses suggested that when business necessity was held constant, employees in high status occupations were more likely to be granted accommodations than employees in low status occupations. Pregnant employees were more likely to be granted accommodations when they faced physical limitations (e.g., limits on climbing, bending, and lifting) than stress limitations (e.g., limits on irregular hours or psychologically stressful situations). Findings suggest the importance of further clarifying the legal definition of business necessity in the equitable treatment of pregnant and disabled applicants and employees in the workplace.