Court Opinion

ID: 9675005
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:38:54.742238+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:30.682774
License: Public Domain

Bronson, P.J.
(concurring). I concur in the majority’s disposition of this case, with the understanding that the Department of Civil Rights will exercise its sound discretion by promptly taking steps to eliminate the uncertainties which pervade this area of the law. More specifically, I trust that the department will as soon as practicable promulgate comprehensive, clear and reasonable standards setting forth (1) the nature and extent of an employer’s duty to accommodate employees’ handicaps, and (2) the circumstances under which the department would find "undue hardship”, such that accommodation would no longer be required. Once such standards have been developed and their validity upheld, compliance and enforcement will be immeasurably improved.
I also believe that the Legislature should directly address the problem noted by the majority, supra, concerning the possibility that mandatory accommodation of an injured employee may lead to re-injury, thereby increasing an employer’s liability under workers’ compensation laws. At the very least, the Legislature should indicate whether the department’s position as to this issue is consistent with the legislative intention underlying the act and with the spirit and letter of recent legislation designed to reform this state’s system of workers’ compensation.