ABSTRACT
This chapter examines more specialized type of claim, namely, that discrimination has resulted from a failure to take adequate steps to accommodate an individual's particular needs or circumstances. The accommodation model is common in cases where claimants assert particular subjective needs, based on their objective status. The respondent justifies failure to accommodate needs by adopting a contrary view as to the nature or gravity of the subjective need. In Vande Zande v. State of Wisconsin Department of Administration, a woman complained about her employer's failure, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, to accommodate her partial physical paralysis. It was agreed that certain accommodation had already been made by the respondent. The respondent refused to provide the accommodations on the grounds that to do so would have imposed considerable additional expense, while only slightly increasing the claimant's productivity or comfort. Non-discrimination norms in contemporary human rights instruments commonly include enumerated lists of protected classifications, such as race, ethnicity or sex.
