Imagine opening your email on a Monday morning to find a request from your employee.
A recent medical diagnosis means they can no longer sit at a standard desk for the entire workday. They need an adjustable standing desk. They also need a flexible schedule for physical therapy.
Do you have to say yes? Where do you even start? You don’t want to break the law. But you also don’t want to have a slew of emails in your inbox asking for one accommodation or another.
According to data cited by The San Antonio Current, Texas was among the top 12 states in the U.S. for workplace discrimination charges. Making the wrong decision could put your business on the list of workplace discriminators and expose you to incredibly costly lawsuits.
This article discusses what you need to know about workplace accommodations so you can protect your business and properly support your team.
What Are Workplace Accommodation Laws?
Workplace accommodation laws are the set of rules that require employers to make small changes so employees with disabilities can do their jobs. This is a big deal, seeing as more than 22% of the country’s disabled population was employed as of 2025.
As a business owner in the Lone Star State, you actually answer to two different sets of rules:
- The federal law, known as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- The state law, specifically the Texas Labor Code Chapter 21
Under the Texas Labor Code, employers cannot say “No” to reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee unless it causes undue hardship to the business.
A reasonable accommodation can include:
- Adjusted work schedules
- Modified job duties
- Remote or hybrid work
- Access to electronic information using assistive technology
- Reassignment to a different role if available
Refusing to provide disability accommodations without a valid reason is employment discrimination under Texas and federal laws. This applies to both job applicants and employees.
According to Conn Maciel Carey, employers must ensure that qualified people with disabilities have the same opportunity for employment as their non-disabled counterparts.
4 Steps to Handling Workplace Accommodation Requests the Right Way
So, how do you handle workplace accommodation requests the right way as a small business owner in Texas?
Know Which Laws Apply to Your Business
The first step is knowing the workplace accommodation laws that apply to you. But here’s the thing: both the ADA and Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 generally apply to employers with 15 or more workers in Texas.
But there are exceptions:
- State agencies and elected officials must comply regardless of size
- These laws typically don’t apply to businesses with fewer than 15 employees
- Texas has a separate law for pregnancy and nursing accommodation
The separate pregnancy law means that you’re expected to treat your pregnant workers like any other worker with a temporary medical condition. And this applies no matter how many employees you have.
You must provide a comfortable chair for them to sit. You’re also expected to make changes to your food and drinks policy. Equally important, you need to change work schedules to make things easy for them. You should also encourage a mother-friendly worksite, so they’re comfortable nursing when they return to work after giving birth.
Know the Exception: Undue Hardship
Once you know the laws that apply to your business, find out what wiggle room you have. You don’t have to bankrupt your company to fulfill a request. Thankfully, the law includes a safety valve called “undue hardship.” If an accommodation is too difficult or expensive for your specific business to pull off, you aren’t legally required to do it. But what exactly does the government define as “undue hardship”?
Again, thankfully, undue hardship is easy enough to determine. It typically covers:
- The actual cost of the accommodation
- Whether you can find an alternative solution
- The overall size and financial resources of your business
The truth is that a small mom-and-pop shop in Austin won’t be held to the same financial standard as a massive corporation in Dallas.
But here’s the catch: you need evidence. Not assumptions. “I don’t think we can manage it” is not enough. You need to show why.
The EEOC will weigh this financial reality against the disruption the request would cause to your daily operations.
Follow the “Interactive Process”
When an employee asks for help, you must engage in what the law calls the interactive process. This is probably the most crucial part of the whole system and is something the law expects.
It usually looks like:
- Employee makes a request
- Employer asks clarifying questions
- Both sides explore options
- A solution is tested or agreed on
This interactive process is your ultimate shield against a lawsuit. This is because Texas law is clear that employers must make a “good faith” effort on workplace accommodation requests.
Even if you don’t arrive at a perfect solution, a well-documented interactive process where you engage with your staff about their needs shows that you tried.
Don’t Forget Mental Health Conditions
A common trap for small business owners is assuming that workplace accommodations only apply to physical conditions.
That’s incorrect. Federal and Texas law protect mental health conditions just as strictly. That actually makes sense considering that up to 45% of U.S. workers are experiencing mental health challenges, according to UC Berkeley.
Mental health conditions, including
- Burnout
- PTSD
- Severe anxiety disorders
- Clinical depression and more are fully covered.
The idea isn’t for your business to break the bank managing these issues. It’s the practical arrangements you put in place, such as flexible scheduling for therapy or adjusting deadlines to reduce panic triggers.
FAQs
Do I have to grant every accommodation request?
No. Undue hardship is a valid defense. Just ensure you document your good-faith efforts to find an alternative first.
Does the law protect someone who’s only perceived as disabled?
No. Texas law exempts employers from providing reasonable accommodation to someone who is only regarded as disabled, but without an actual limitation. You’re not to discriminate against them, but perception alone doesn’t trigger the accommodation requirement.
Can an employee sue me even if I tried but couldn’t accommodate them?
Yes, anyone can file a lawsuit. But good faith efforts seriously limit your damage exposure. The EEOC and the Texas Workforce Commission both take the process seriously.
Key Stats at a Glance
| Details | Stats |
| Texas’s rank in the list of U.S. states known for employee discrimination | Number 12 |
| Percentage of the U.S. disabled population employed as of 2025 | 22% + |
| Percentage of U.S. workers experiencing mental health challenges | 45% |
Final Thoughts
Many employers see workplace accommodation requests and the laws guiding them as traps. That’s not true. These are just simple processes designed to help workers who happen to be going through a rough patch with their health, whether physical or mental.
And as you can see from this guide, the best way to deal with issues like this is proper engagement and good faith. Talk to your people. Write things down. Make small changes when you can, and document them properly.
Do that, and you’re already doing what the law expects from you.
