Can an Employer Retaliate Against You for Requesting an Accommodation in California?

By Natalia D. Asbill-Bearor

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Employment Laws

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Last Modified on Sep 22, 2026

Sometimes an employee may need reasonable accommodation due to a disability. However, can an employer retaliate against you for requesting an accommodation in California? While employers are generally required to provide accommodation, provided it does not produce undue hardship on the company, they also cannot retaliate against you for doing so.

Employment Counsel Near Sacramento for Workplace Retaliation

Asbill Law Group advocates for Sacramento-area employees regarding employment law disputes, including disability accommodation requests and workplace retaliation. Our attorneys have handled employment litigation in California state and federal courts. We also know how to resolve employment conflicts with California’s largest employers.

California Law to Protect Reasonable Accommodation Requests

California law specifically protects employees who request disability accommodations from retaliation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

California Government Code § 12940 makes it unlawful for a covered employer to retaliate or discriminate against a person because of their request for a reasonable accommodation.

Covered employers may not penalize an applicant or employee for requesting an accommodation, even if the request is denied. That means if an employee requests an accommodation and it is ultimately found to be unreasonable or another accommodation is chosen, the employee is still protected by law from retaliation.

California law also obligates employers to engage in the accommodation process. It is unlawful for a covered employer to fail to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that work in response to a request. Employers must both refrain from retaliation and engage in the interactive process in accommodation requests.

Examples of Workplace Retaliation

California employees filed 16,924 employment right-to-sue complaints, according to CRD’s 2024 Annual Report. Among the allegations made in the complaints were:

• 8,288 involved asking for or making use of an accommodation connected to a handicap.
• Disability is one of the most common grounds for discrimination, with 14,430 allegations.
• 11,837 had to do with reporting or opposing harassment or discrimination.

These numbers overlap and shouldn’t be combined since a single complaint may comprise several bases. An employee does not have to be fired in order for retaliation to occur. Employers may run into California retaliation laws if they take some other adverse action against an employee because of their protected activity. Potentially retaliatory actions can include: 

• Firing or demoting the employee
• Substantially reducing their hours or job responsibilities
• Issuing undeserved disciplinary actions
• Making other material changes to the employee’s assignments or working conditions that are unfavorable
• Denying certain opportunities due to the request for accommodation

Workplace conflicts don’t always constitute illegal retaliation.  An employee would need to show more than that they requested an accommodation and were treated poorly by the employer. They’d need evidence suggesting the employer’s decision to take that negative action stemmed from the accommodation request.

How to Show Retaliation Has Occurred

A claim of retaliation usually involves drawing a connection between the protected activity and something the employer did in response. To make this connection, an employee may point to evidence that they:

• Engaged in protected activity
• Experienced an adverse employment action
• Their protected activity was the reason for the adverse employment action.

Timing can play a role in proving retaliation occurred. If an employee had never had any issues at work but suddenly receives negative performance reviews or disciplinary write-ups after requesting a schedule change to attend doctor’s appointments, that could show retaliation.

Evidence of retaliatory motives can include emails, texts, positive performance reviews predating the accommodation request, disciplinary actions initiated subsequent to the request, scheduling documents reflecting the accommodation, testimony from colleagues, and even supervisor remarks.

Hire a Retaliation Lawyer

You may want to hire a retaliation lawyer yourself if an adverse employment action is taken against you after you request a disability accommodation and you have evidence that the two are connected. A retaliation attorney can look at the evidence and help you in your case.

Sacramento civil retaliation cases are heard at the Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse, 500 G Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. The courthouse is in the Sacramento Railyards near Downtown Sacramento and off of Interstate 5.

FAQs

Can I File a Retaliation Complaint With the California Civil Rights Department?

Yes. California employees who believe they have been retaliated against unlawfully can file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). This department can investigate allegations of violations of California civil rights laws, which include certain types of employment discrimination and retaliation. There are time limits for filing a complaint, so employees should not delay before contacting the CRD.

Can My Employer Notify My Coworkers About My Accommodation?

Employers may be able to inform a coworker about an accommodation, especially if it affects the company, but they should generally keep medical information private. In some cases, coworkers need to know about changes to the workplace, like modified work responsibilities or scheduling.

However, coworkers do not usually need to know about an employee’s diagnosis or other medical details. Disclosure of confidential medical information could lead to a separate legal issue apart from the accommodation issue.

Can Retaliation Happen While I Am on Medical Leave?

Medical leave could potentially count as a reasonable accommodation as well. Employees do not automatically lose retaliation protections just because they are on leave from the workplace.

An employer’s actions while an employee is on medical leave, such as firing the employee or eliminating the employee’s position, should be scrutinized for the actual reason behind the action. Employers can still make legitimate business decisions that are unrelated to the employee’s protected activity.

Should I Document All Accommodation-Related Communications?

Yes. Employees should consider keeping emails, written accommodation requests, doctor’s notes, notes from meetings, performance reviews, schedules, and any employer responses related to the accommodation.

A timeline can help pinpoint when the employer became aware of the accommodation request and what occurred afterward. Keep records in a legal manner.  For example, don’t steal confidential employer information that you are not entitled to access.

Speak With an Attorney Today

Employers are forbidden by law to retaliate against employees who request a reasonable accommodation. Contact Asbill Law Group today if you have been retaliated against in the workplace.