• Greg Mansell says some employers are reviewing accommodation requests amid rising RTO mandates.
• Mansell says the process can be stressful for disabled employees, leading to some jobs leaving.
• Mansell advises employees to use their primary care physician instead of a specialist to submit requests.

This article is said to be based on a conversation with Greg Mansell40, an employment attorney based in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Request one ADA health accommodation should be a collaborative process between the employer and the employee where the primary goal is to provide a medically necessary accommodation that does not place an undue burden on the employer.

With increase in RTO mandates and the subsequent increase in work-from-home requests, some employers are extending the process and reviewing requests more carefully. I believe this is to ensure that employees do not abuse the system.

Unfortunately, increasingly lengthy and arduous processes can place additional stress on disabled employees and, in some cases, can influence them to leave a job.

As an employment lawyer of 15 years, here are my tips for employees to overcome four hurdles in the accommodation request process.

1. Don’t wait for your specialist

After an accommodation is requested, employers may ask the employee’s physician to complete one request for accommodation specifies the underlying disability, the limitations it imposes, and the accommodation requested.

The employer may want the request submitted by a specialist if the patient sees one, but these doctors can be hard to come by. I remind you that their primary care physician has access to all medical records and can provide the same information. It doesn’t have to come directly from the specialist’s mouth.

2. Prepare the request for your doctor

Some doctors just don’t like dealing with the hiring process, so it can be good to remove the burden in any way possible. It may be useful for disabled employee to prepare their own accommodation request and submit it for their doctor’s review.

The doctor can approve it or change it for accuracy, but it makes the process much less burdensome for the doctor.

3. Consider consulting an attorney

The Americans with Disabilities Act is one of the most complex employment laws, so employees and healthcare professionals can make mistakes that lead to a wrongly denied accommodation request.

For example, the physician may not specify the medical condition and instead simply state that an employee needs an accommodation. This does not provide the employer with sufficient information to determine whether the accommodation, or any other accommodation, is medically necessary.

Employment lawyers understand the process and can ensure that an employee provides everything needed and holds the employer to ADA requirements. The disadvantage is, of course, that this is a time-consuming process and legal fees can be quite expensive.

4. Document everything

If you are consulting a lawyer, it is good to have as much documentation as possible of the accommodation request process. Documentation helps us determine whether the employer followed the correct procedures.

You can’t force an employer to have a conversation via email, but you can and should follow up any virtual or in-person meeting with the points you discussed as a way to remember the conversation.

If you are going through the accommodation process in the midst of your company’s RTO mandate and would like to share your story, please email Tess Martinelli at [email protected].