Undue hardship is when complying with a legal obligation is unreasonable or insurmountable. It can arise in the workplace, where employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. If an employer denies accommodation due to undue hardship, the employee can take legal action. The concept also applies to other situations where people have legal obligations they cannot fulfill due to hardship.
Undue hardship is a concept in the law that revolves around the idea that if complying with a legal obligation would constitute unreasonable or insurmountable hardship, someone will be relieved of that obligation. An example of undue hardship might be seen in a student loan forgiveness applicant. If someone could show no documented income and no hope of documented income in the future, such as in the case of a person with permanent disability, it could be argued that the claims constitute undue hardship and the person’s loans should be forgiven.
There are a number of contexts in which the concept of undue hardship may arise. One of the most classic environments is the workplace. In many countries, employers are required by law to provide employees with disabilities the reasonable accommodations they need to do their job. For example, a hearing-impaired employee would be entitled to a special telephone so that she could conduct business. Similarly, a company that hires an employee suffering from migraine under fluorescent lights should adopt alternative lighting arrangements.
Some companies may deny accommodations on the grounds that it is too much inconvenience. There are two tests that can be used to determine whether or not an accommodation represents excessive hardship. The first is expenditure, which is considered as part of a company’s overall operating costs. Most necessary housing is so cheap that this argument is usually not effective. The second argument that can be used is to demonstrate that the accommodation would change the fundamental nature of the enterprise, thereby creating an unreasonable hardship.
The accommodations extend not only to the workplace, but also to the application process. People with disabilities have historically faced a variety of workplace discrimination and as a result, a number of laws are in place designed to provide them with protected status in the workplace. If an employer denies accommodation due to undue hardship and this claim can be refuted, the employer will be obliged to provide accommodation by law. However, it should be noted that the employee would have to take the case to court to do so and many people cannot afford the expense of a trial.
This legal concept also emerges in other situations where people have a legal obligation that they cannot fulfill due to undue hardship. When releasing people from obligations, care is taken to ensure that the hardship is genuine and to confirm that the person did not enter into the obligation with the knowledge that the hardship would be a problem.
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