Cost Value Not A Factor In Undue Hardship Determination

EEOC considered the relationship of an accommodation's cost to the value of the position at issue, as measured by the compensation paid to the holder of the position. The EEOC did not adopt this recommendation in its final regulations. The Commission noted that in drafting the ADA, Congress specifically rejected including a cost/value factor in the undue hardship analysis. An amendment to the legislation proposing that undue hardship be defined as any accommodation costing more than ten percent of the employee's salary was voted down by the House Judiciary Committee. To incorporate a cost/value factor in the regulations, therefore, was viewed by the EEOC as being contrary to Congress's intent in enacting the ADA.