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ARTICLE · 21 FEBRUARY 2023

Eleventh Circuit's New "Percentage" Factor For Identifying Essential Job Functions

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Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must reasonably accommodate otherwise qualified employees with disabilities. In this context, "qualified"...

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Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must reasonably accommodate otherwise qualified employees with disabilities. In this context, "qualified" means an employee can perform the essential functions of their job, with or without an accommodation. "Essential functions" include job duties that an individual is required to perform, perhaps because there are few alternate employees able to perform that function, or because the function is highly specialized.

Factors relevant to deciding whether a function is essential may include:

  • The employer's judgment as to what is essential.
  • Whether the function is included in the individual's written job description.
  • The amount of time the individual typically spends performing the function.

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