The ADA provides nondiscrimination protection to qualified individuals, defined by the statute as someone who — whether with a reasonable accommodation or without — “can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.”
The law contemplates reassignment as a reasonable accommodation that may be required in some circumstances, but the path to finding one can get bumpy, according the Job Accommodation Network.
First, reassignment is generally considered the accommodation of “last resort.” Similarly, employees aren’t entitled to their preferred accommodation; any effective one will fulfill an employer’s obligation to accommodate.
