Although given the realities of running a business, there is no way to assure that an employer will fully comply with the complex disability laws that apply to a California workplace, implementing infrastructure that would allow management and human resources personnel to follow certain steps and ask the rights questions in order to ensure that the disability rights of a worker are protected would be very effective in minimizing the risk of violating disability rights, which would of course benefit both - the employer and the qualifying employees.   

Having conducted many dozens of depositions of human resources managers and other corporate representatives in charge of hiring and termination decisions in large companies, I have often heard a "no" in response to my question about whether a given company has a set of written rules, guidelines or any other kinds of written reference for the decision makers to ensure that the follow the law when they evaluate whether reasonable accommodation should be provided to a particular employee. Many of those employers were among the Fortune 500 companies who could surely afford to have these tools in place for their management, and yet they didn't. 

It was refreshing for me to find out recently that one company - Macy's - has a specific questionnaire in place that its managers are supposed to use when assessing what accommodation, if any, should be provided to an injured/disabled employee. A copy of that document is attached below. Of course, having this document available to the management does not mean that the managers will actually use it when they have to or that they will use it in a way that will help them comply with the law, it's a great start and is surely better than not having anything at all.