Who Initiates The Interactive Process?
Who is responsible for initiating the interactive process? Is it the employee or the employer? On appeal, this court verified that it is the employees responsibility. Importantly, by its terms FEHA requires that the employee initiate the process, wrote the court. But on the other hand, “no magic words are necessary, and the obligation arises once the employer becomes aware of the need to consider an accommodation. The employer must act in good faith when it is aware of the need for accommodation. Each party must participate in good faith, undertake reasonable efforts to communicate its concerns, and make available to the other information which is available, or more accessible, to one party, wrote the appellate court. Liability hinges on the objective circumstances surrounding the parties’ breakdown in communication, and responsibility for the breakdown lies with the party who fails to participate in good faith.” “Properly participating in the interactive process means that an employer
