Under California labor laws, namely California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, "reasonable accommodation" for purposes of handling employees with disabilities in the workplace is not clearly defined but instead explained through certain examples. The Americans with Disabilities Act governs the federal approach for workplace disability rights. The definition of the “reasonable accommodation” that California employers are required by law to give employees with disabilities in the state are virtually identical under both California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

California law affirms that employers are not allowed to bar or to discharge an employee from employment or to discriminate against employees by demoting or disciplining them based on physical disability because doing so can constitute a violation of California labor laws. compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. However, it is important to distinguish this type of illegal employer conduct from times when the employer fires an employee that happens to have a physical or mental disability and is not capable of adequately completing the work even though the employee is given reasonable accommodations, which would not be considered a violation of employee rights and state labor laws.

Under California Labor Laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, California employers are not allowed to fire an employee based on a physical disability even though the employee is able to complete the job with reasonable accommodations. In the event that an employer violates the labor law by discriminating against workers with physical or mental disabilities, in order to win a lawsuit for money and damages, the employee must be able to prove that the employer in fact fired the employee because of the employee’s disability and that the employee could perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employees must show that they were a qualified individual with a disability if they want to sue their former employer for violating the employment rights of workers with disabilities. Under federal law, in the event that the workers tries to get an accommodation by getting reassigned to an open job in another area of the company, the workers can satisfy the "qualified individual with a disability" requirement if the worker can show that he or she is able to complete the critical jobs of the open job position with or without accommodation. Additionally, for the employee to recover money under Federal laws governing employee with disability rights, the worker must prove that the job applied for existed and that it was not a promotion for the employee to get the job but instead an equivalent job position.