California Attorney General Opinion 23-1002

BACKGROUND

The question before us involves the ADA, a federal law, and the Brown Act, a state law. 1 “Congress enacted the ADA in 1990 to remedy widespread discrimination against” people with disabilities. 2 Congress enacted amendments to the ADA in 2008 that reasserted that purpose. 3 In furtherance of its purpose, the ADA generally requires “reasonable accommodation” be made in employment, government services, and public accommodations for individuals with disabilities. 4 In the employment context, for example, a reasonable accommodation could be a modified work schedule. 5 Determining what constitutes a reasonable accommodation in any given scenario is a fact-intensive, individualized, case-by-case inquiry.

1 This question is implicated in a pending case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Fischer v. City of Berkeley, 3:23-cv-04280-TSH. It appears that no decision will be issued soon, if at all, in that case: the district court postponed the deadline for responding to the complaint multiple times in anticipation of possible settlement and referred the case to mediation, which has been completed. As of the date of publication of this…