Plaintiff, Beth Lyons, a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society (Legal Aid) brought suit against her employer, alleging that Legal Aid violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide her with a parking space near her office. Plaintiff worked for defendant in its lower Manhattan office. Lyon’s disability was the result of being struck and nearly killed by an automobile. For six years from the date of the accident, Lyons was on disability leave from Legal Aid; she underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries and received ‘‘constant’’ physical therapy.
Since the accident, Lyons has been able to walk only by using walking devices, including walkers, canes, and crutches. Since returning to work Lyons has performed her job duties successfully. Nevertheless, her condition severely limits her ability to walk long distances either at one time or during the course of a day.
Before returning to work, Lyons asked Legal Aid to accommodate her disability by providing her a parking space near her office and the courts in which she would practice. She stated that this would be necessary because she is unable to take public transportation from her home in New Jersey to the Legal Aid office in Manhattan because such ‘‘commuting would require her to walk distances, climb stairs, and on occasion to remain standing for extended periods of time,’’ thereby ‘‘overtax[ing] her limited physical capabilities.’’ Lyons’s physician advised Legal Aid by letter that such a parking space was ‘‘necessary to enable [Lyons] to return to work.’’ Legal Aid informed Lyons that it would not pay for a parking space for her. Accordingly, Lyons has spent $300 to $520 a month, representing 15 percent to 26 percent of her monthly net salary, for a parking space adjacent to her office building. Are the accommodations requested by Lyons unreasonable? Why?