US Airways, Inc v. Barnett

In US Airways, Inc v. Barnett, 535 U.S. 391, [2002], the United States Supreme Court set out a burden-shifting scheme for reasonable accommodation cases. Plaintiff generally bears the burden of proving that the proposed accommodation "seems reasonable on its face, i.e., ordinarily or in the run of cases." (Barnett, 535 U.S. at 401; see also 535 U.S. at 409-410 [O'Connor, J., concurring].) If plaintiff makes this showing, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that the accommodation, though reasonable as a general matter, imposes an undue hardship on the defendant due to the defendant's particularized circumstances. (Id. 535 U.S. at 401.)