Court Opinion

ID: 9551214
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:49:23.56822+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:20.201850
License: Public Domain

Brachtenbach, J.
(concurring) — I concur in the result solely upon the basis that Metro did not except to the instruction that accommodation of a handicapped worker is an undue hardship if it is unreasonable in view of the size of the employer's business.
WAC 162-22-080(3) provides:
The cost of accommodating an able handicapped worker will be considered to be an undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business only if it is unreasonably high in view of the size of the employer's business
That standard may well be a valid and desirable criteria for determining the necessity of an employer's accommodation. However, it is not authorized by the statute, RCW 49.60.120(3) and .180(3).
The regulation is beyond the authority granted the Commission. Its authority, RCW 49.60.110, is to adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of RCW 49.60. Nowhere is there a hint that the size of the employer's business is a relevant factor in determining whether there has been discrimination against a handicapped person. Such a criterion should be set by the Legislature, not the Commission.
Utter and Andersen, JJ., concur with Brachtenbach, J.