Virginia: Expands Human Rights Act to Include Disabilities

The Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) has been expanded to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. Employers must provide a reasonable accommodation to qualified employees, unless the accommodation would cause an undue hardship. To do this, employers must engage in a timely, good faith interactive process to determine if the requested accommodation is reasonable or discuss alternative accommodations. Employers also cannot retaliate against an employee who requests or uses a reasonable accommodation, deny employment opportunities because the employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation, or require the employee take a leave of absence if another reasonable accommodation can be provided.

Before denying an accommodation request because of an undue hardship, the employer must consider the hardship on the employer’s business, size of the applicable facility, nature and costs of the accommodations needed, the possibility that the same accommodations may be used by another employee, and safety and health considerations of the person with a disability.

Employers must include language in employee handbooks to include information about employee rights to reasonable accommodation based on disability. A required poster must also be displayed in a conspicuous place in the workplace. Additionally, employers must provide notice of employee rights upon hire and within 10 days following receipt of notice that an individual has a disability.

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