To be entitled to a reasonable accommodation at work within the meaning of ADA / FEHA, an disabled employee must show that he can perform the “essential function” of his position with or without accommodations. A question often arises in disability discrimination and wrongful termination litigation as to whether the employee was in fact able to perform his essential functions when he was terminated.
Generally, “essential functions” means the fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds or desires. A job function may be considered essential for any of several reasons, including but not limited to, any one or more of the following: (a) the reason the position exists is to perform that function; (b) the limited number of employees available among whom the performance of that job function can be distributed; and (c) the incumbent in the position is hired for his or her expertise or ability to perform the particular (highly specialized) function. Cal. Gov Code section 12926(f)(1); Cal. Code Regs., tit 2 section 11065(e)(1). A classic and “easy” example of an essential function of the job is the ability to drive for a commercial truck driver.
On the other hand, the non-essential or “marginal functions” of an employment position are those that, if not performed, would not eliminate the need for the job or that could be readily performed by another employee or that could be performed in an alternative way.