Apr 8 2026
Amanda DeMatteis: Hi, Josh.
Josh Goodbaum: Hi, Amanda. What are we talking about today?
DeMatteis: Well, I forgot my glasses, and I’m feeling very naked and like I’m having difficulty performing my job today, especially recording this video. Don’t worry, I can still see! But it got me thinking: What if a Connecticut employee has some type of disability and they need something to aid in them performing their job at work and they leave that thing at home? Maybe it’s glasses. Maybe it’s a specific pillow for their chair that they need. Something that assists them to walk or to be mobile. It could really be anything under the sun, but they don’t have this thing that they need to help them perform the essential functions of their job. What do they do?
Goodbaum: This happens to me all the time, Amanda. I forget my regular glasses at home, and I’m only wearing my prescription sunglasses, which I can’t use to see my computer screen. Here’s what to do:
Step one, remain calm. We’re gonna figure this out.
Step two, check around. Is it in your car? Is it in your bag? Make sure that you actually left it at home. Is there somebody at home you can call to make sure that it’s there?
Step three, is there somebody you can borrow this thing from? If it’s your prescription glasses for distance, or your unique custom-to-you back pillow, probably not. But if it’s just a pair of reading glasses, maybe you can borrow them from a friend or you can walk or drive to the Walgreens or CVS down the block and buy another pair?
If none of those work, then we’re on to step four. Whenever I hear disability, I think of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, and those both entitle you to a reasonable accommodation for your disability. So, worst case, if you’re at work and you are missing something that you need or want to do your job, to make your job more comfortable given your disability, you should tell your employer about it and then propose a reasonable accommodation. Maybe it’s as simple as saying, “Hey, I’m sorry, can I take an hour of unpaid leave to drive back home, get the thing I need, and come back?” That seems like a pretty reasonable proposal.
Now, I would hope that, in that situation, your employer’s just gonna say, “Yes, of course, go do that.” But if they don’t, remember that you’re not entitled to the reasonable accommodation you’ve requested; you’re entitled to a reasonable accommodation. So, they could enter into the interactive dialogue, and if you want to know more about the interactive dialogue, watch some of our other videos — we talk about that at length — but you’re gonna have a conversation about what’s reasonable in this circumstance.
Worst case, your employer should let you, at a minimum, take an hour of PTO to go home and get your glasses or get your pillow or get whatever else you need. And if they don’t, and it starts to turn into a serious dispute – I hope it doesn’t, but if it does – that’s the time potentially to get an employment lawyer involved.
DeMatteis: Thank you so much. Hopefully, you’re a little bit less forgetful than I am, and you don’t find yourself in this position, but if you do, now you know. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next time.
Posted by Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C. in Commentary
Tagged Amanda DeMatteis, Joshua Goodbaum, Reasonable Accommodation
