Employers are well-aware of the challenges arising from the application of the duty to accommodate. Those challenges are made all the more difficult by recent developments in the case law, particularly in the area of chronic innocent absenteeism.

Absenteeism is either culpable or innocent. Culpable absenteeism refers to absences for which the employee is responsible and for which there is no reasonable excuse. Common examples include sleeping in and failure to arrange transportation to get to work. Innocent (non-culpable) absenteeism, on the other hand, refers to absences caused by circumstances that are outside of the employee’s control. This includes absences due to illness or disability, or absences that are otherwise justifiable.

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