If an employee requests the ergonomic equipment as an accommodation for a disability under the ADA or applicable state or local disability discrimination law, the employer will, in all likelihood, be required to pay for appropriate equipment — absent undue hardship. Employees are not necessarily entitled to the equipment of their choice, or even the accommodation of their choice, but employers may be required to provide an effective accommodation at their expense, again absent undue hardship. In addition, some states, such as California, have very strict laws regarding reimbursement of employees for work-related expenses.
Employers can require employees to provide medical documentation to support their accommodation requests, as long as the employer treats all employees consistently in this regard. If an employer is more generous or lenient with certain employees in terms of the purchase of equipment, this could lead to discrimination claims beyond the ADA, such as race, gender, or age discrimination.
It may be in an employer’s interest, in terms of preventing worker’s compensation injuries, to agree to provide ergonomic evaluations for employees’ remote working circumstances and to purchase ergonomically-appropriate equipment to help prevent injury. If an employer is able to offer ergonomic equipment in a workplace setting and an employee is choosing to work from home for personal reasons (and not for either medical reasons or reasons that benefit the employer, such as reduced footprint costs), an employer may not be required to pay for ergonomic equipment for home use.
