Reasonable Accommodation: Time to Extend the Duty to Accommodate Beyond Disability?

Abstract

This article discusses the merits of extending the duty to make a reasonable accommodation beyond disability, to include other grounds such as religious belief and old age. The author identifies a number of drawbacks with such an approach, and concludes that, if interpreted dynamically, the obligation not to indirectly discriminate can also provide for a de facto accommodation duty in many cases. The author notes that such a duty can also be read into the ECHR at times.

Keywords: Reasonable accommodation, indirect discrimination, disability, religious belief, age