On August 10, 2011, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in Nixon-Tinkelman v. N.Y.C. Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, a case in which a disabled employee challenged her employer's alleged failure to provide reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The key issue in the case was whether an employer may be required to assist an employee with her commute, as a means of providing a reasonable accommodation for the employee's disability.

The plaintiff, who is hearing impaired and suffers from cancer, heart problems and asthma, filed suit arguing that her employer improperly denied her request for reasonable accommodation regarding her commute, after relocating her from an office in Queens to one in Manhattan. The district court granted summary judgment for the employer, finding that the employer's obligations under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act do not extend to activities outside the scope of the employee's job, such as commuting.

The Second Circuit vacated the district court's decision, ruling that "in certain circumstances, an employer may have an obligation to assist in an employee's commute." Noting that a determination of whether a particular commuting accommodation is reasonable involves a fact-specific inquiry, the court remanded the case to the district court to consider factors such as:

The Second Circuit's decision makes clear that an employer is not entitled to deny a request for reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee's commute simply because the commute is not typically considered a part of the employee's job duties. Instead, employers must work with employees to determine whether, given the employer's particular circumstances, a reasonable accommodation can be made. For details on employer obligations under the ADA, see Practice Note, Disability Accommodation under the ADA.