Remote Work, Schedule Changes and Reassignment as Disability Accommodations in New York

Schedule changes and reassignment to a vacant job are written into the accommodation laws; remote work is not named in the statutes but is addressed in agency guidance at the federal and City levels.⁠^[1][3][4][5] Each layer asks, in its own words, whether the person can do the job with the change and whether the change would cause the employer undue hardship.⁠^{[8][9][10][11][12][7]}

Where do these three accommodations appear in the law?

Accommodation	Federal (ADA)	New York State (NYSHRL)	New York City (NYCHRL)
Schedule changes	Statute lists "part-time or modified work schedules"⁠[1]	Statute lists "modified work schedules"; regulation adds schedule adjustments for treatment or recovery⁠[2][3]	Commission guidance names a change in regular schedule and flexible arrival and departure times⁠[13]
Remote work	EEOC guidance: policy on where work is performed is modified if effective and no undue hardship⁠[4]	Not named in the State statute's or regulation's lists, which are not exhaustive⁠[2][3]	Commission guidance: may be a reasonable accommodation; blanket policies are not an answer⁠[13][5]
Reassignment	Statute lists "reassignment to a vacant position"⁠[1]	Regulation lists "reassignment to an available position"⁠[3]	Commission guidance: considered when the employee cannot be kept in the current position⁠[14]

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers employers with 15 or more employees.⁠^[15] The New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) covers all employers within the state.⁠^[16] The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) generally applies in employment to employers with four or more persons.⁠^[17] The general duty under each law is explained in the guide to reasonable accommodation in New York.

The limit that applies to all three: essential functions

Under the ADA, a "qualified individual" is a person who can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.⁠^[8] The EEOC's regulation defines essential functions as the fundamental job duties of the position, not its marginal functions.⁠^[18] The ADA says the employer's judgment about which functions are essential is considered, and that a written job description prepared before advertising or interviewing is evidence of them.⁠^[8]

The State regulation asks for reasonable performance, "not perfect performance or performance unaffected by the disability," and treats a function as essential if not performing it would fundamentally change the job.⁠^[19] Under the City law, the question is framed as an affirmative defense: the employer has to prove that the person could not, with reasonable accommodation, satisfy the essential requisites of the job.⁠^[12]

These definitions frame each of the three accommodations below.

Schedule changes

Federal. EEOC guidance on the ADA says an employer has to provide a modified or part-time schedule when it is needed as a reasonable accommodation, absent undue hardship, even if it does not provide such schedules for other employees.⁠^[20] The guidance describes a modified schedule as possibly involving adjusted arrival or departure times, periodic breaks, a change in when certain functions are performed, or use of accrued paid leave or additional unpaid leave.⁠^[20]

In McMillan v. City of New York, an ADA case, the Second Circuit said that physical presence at or by a specific time is not, as a matter of law, an essential function of all employment. Timely arrival normally is essential, the court said, but a court still has to make a fact-specific inquiry into the particular job.⁠^[21]

EEOC guidance also separates past discipline from future accommodation. In its example of an employee with major depression who arrived late because of medication side effects, the EEOC says the employer may discipline the employee for the tardiness that already occurred, but has to consider a reasonable accommodation, such as a later schedule, that would let the employee meet the standard in the future.⁠^[22]

New York State. The State regulation says an employer need not accommodate behavior that fails workplace standards applied consistently to all similarly situated employees, even where a disability causes it; but it also says reasonable and necessary deviations from time and attendance policy "must be allowed as accommodations."⁠^[23] For a temporary disability, the regulation says the law may require modified work schedules or schedule adjustments for recovery, and names the employer's past practice, the size and flexibility of the workforce and the employee's overall attendance record as important factors.⁠^[24]

New York City. The Commission's December 2025 guidance says a flexible work schedule may be a reasonable accommodation, including letting an employee vary arrival or departure times or take extended lunch breaks to make medical appointments.⁠^[13]

Remote work

Federal. EEOC guidance on the ADA says an employer has to modify its policy concerning where work is performed if that change is needed as a reasonable accommodation, "but only if this accommodation would be effective and would not cause an undue hardship." Whether it is effective depends on whether the essential functions of the position can be performed at home.⁠^[4]

New York State. Neither the NYSHRL's definition of reasonable accommodation nor the State regulation's list mentions remote work by name. Both lists are introduced with the words "include, but are not limited to" or "may include, but are not limited to," and both include job restructuring and modified work schedules.⁠^[2][3] This page does not state a State-specific rule on remote work as an accommodation.

New York City. The Commission says that when an employee asks for remote work as an accommodation, the employer cannot rely on policies that make remote work an earned privilege or prohibit it outright. It has to engage in a cooperative dialogue and analyze the employee's specific tasks.⁠^[5] The Commission adds that the mere fact that the employee would be working outside the physical office some or all of the time "generally will not be sufficient to support an undue hardship defense."⁠^[5] Employers may set parameters such as documenting hours or tasks, and may approve remote work for a set period subject to renewal.⁠^[5]

Whether New York law reaches an employee who works remotely from outside the state or the city is a separate question, covered in does New York law apply to remote workers.

Reassignment to a vacant position

Federal. The ADA lists "reassignment to a vacant position" as a reasonable accommodation.⁠^[1] EEOC guidance says employers first consider accommodations that keep the employee in the current job, and calls reassignment "the reasonable accommodation of last resort."⁠^[25] According to the same guidance, the employee has to be qualified for the new position but does not need to be the best qualified person for it, and reassignment does not include a promotion.⁠^[25]

Two federal court decisions limit the claim. In the Second Circuit, the plaintiff bears the burden of showing that a vacant position existed for which the plaintiff was qualified.⁠^[6] And in US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, the Supreme Court held that a requested accommodation that conflicts with the rules of a seniority system is ordinarily not reasonable, unless the employee shows special circumstances that make an exception reasonable in the particular case.⁠^[26]

New York State. The State regulation lists "reassignment to an available position" and says the Human Rights Law does not require, as job restructuring, "the creation of a completely unique position" tailored to the individual's abilities.⁠^[3] For temporary disabilities the regulation mentions reassignment to an available position or available light duty.⁠^[24]

New York City. The Commission says an employer first looks for accommodations that let the employee remain in the current position. When that is not possible, it may consider reassignment to a vacant position, looking first at positions with comparable pay, status and benefits.⁠^[14] The Commission adds that reassignment does not require violating a bona fide seniority system or collective bargaining agreement.⁠^[14]

Who has to prove that the accommodation is workable?

Layer	Rule
Federal (ADA)	In the Second Circuit the plaintiff bears the burdens of production and persuasion as to the existence of an accommodation that would allow performance of the essential functions.⁠[6] The employer demonstrates undue hardship.⁠[9]
New York State (NYSHRL)	At trial the employee has to prove that a reasonable accommodation existed.⁠[12] Undue hardship is weighed using the employer's size, its type of operation, and the nature and cost of the accommodation.⁠[11]
New York City (NYCHRL)	The statute places the burden of proving undue hardship on the covered entity.⁠[7] The Commission says an employer cannot refuse an accommodation just because it involves cost.⁠[27]

The factors are set out in the guide to undue hardship.

What happens after the request?

Under the federal regulation, the employer and employee may need an informal, interactive process to identify the limitation and the accommodations that could overcome it.⁠^[28] The Court of Appeals has held that, under both the State and City laws, an employer that did not engage in a good-faith interactive process about a specifically requested accommodation generally cannot obtain summary judgment.⁠^[29] In New York City the employer also has to provide a written final determination identifying any accommodation granted or denied.⁠^[30]

Each layer speaks to an employer's offer of a different arrangement from the one requested. Federal: in Noll v. International Business Machines Corp., the Second Circuit held that where the employer has already provided or offered an accommodation that is "plainly reasonable," that ends the ADA analysis.⁠^[31] New York State: the Division of Human Rights' regulation says the employer has the right to select which reasonable accommodation will be provided, so long as it is effective in meeting the need.⁠^[32] New York City: the City law's definition of the cooperative dialogue includes discussion of alternatives to a requested accommodation, and the Commission says a person cannot simply reject an accommodation that would be sufficient to meet their needs because it is not the preferred one.⁠^[33][34]

The federal regulation looks to the precise limitation and the accommodations that could overcome it, and the City guidance looks to the employee's specific work tasks.⁠^[28][5] A written request can therefore name the specific change sought (for example, a later start time or particular days at home), tie it to the limitation, and say how each main duty of the job would still get done. The steps are covered in how to request a reasonable accommodation and the interactive process and cooperative dialogue.

What people commonly get wrong

• "The job description says on-site, so remote work is off the table." Under the ADA a written job description is evidence of the essential functions, and the Second Circuit requires a fact-specific inquiry into both the employer's description of a job and how the job is actually performed.⁠^[8][21]
• "If I can do the job without the change, I am not entitled to it." In March 2025 the Second Circuit held in Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District that an employee may qualify for an ADA accommodation even if she can perform the essential functions without it.⁠^[35]
• "The employer has to give me the accommodation I prefer." In the Second Circuit, a plainly reasonable accommodation that the employer has offered ends the ADA analysis, and the New York State regulation gives the employer the right to select among effective accommodations.⁠^[31][32]

Related guides: medical leave as an accommodation, mental health conditions at work, what an employer may ask about a medical condition, and retaliation for asking.