402
Opinion of the Court
(plaintiff meets burden on reasonableness by showing that, "at least on the face of things," the accommodation will be feasible for the employer); Borkowski v. Valley Central School Dist., 63 F. 3d 131, 138 (CA2 1995) (plaintiff satisfies "burden of production" by showing "plausible accommodation"); Barth v. Gelb, 2 F. 3d 1180, 1187 (CADC 1993) (interpreting parallel language in Rehabilitation Act, stating that plaintiff need only show he seeks a "method of accommodation that is reasonable in the run of cases" (emphasis in original)).
Once the plaintiff has made this showing, the defendant/ employer then must show special (typically case-specific) circumstances that demonstrate undue hardship in the particular circumstances. See Reed, supra, at 258 (" 'undue hardship inquiry focuses on the hardships imposed . . . in the context of the particular [employer's] operations' ") (quoting Barth, supra, at 1187); Borkowski, supra, at 138 (after plaintiff makes initial showing, burden falls on employer to show that particular accommodation "would cause it to suffer an undue hardship"); Barth, supra, at 1187 ("undue hardship inquiry focuses on the hardships imposed . . . in the context of the particular agency's operations").
Not every court has used the same language, but their results are functionally similar. In our opinion, that practical view of the statute, applied consistently with ordinary summary judgment principles, see Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 56, avoids Barnett's burden of proof dilemma, while reconciling the two statutory phrases ("reasonable accommodation" and "undue hardship").
III
The question in the present case focuses on the relationship between seniority systems and the plaintiff's need to show that an "accommodation" seems reasonable on its face, i. e., ordinarily or in the run of cases. We must assume that the plaintiff, an employee, is an "individual with a disability." He has requested assignment to a mailroom position as a
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