Mastering ADA: Seven essentials for HR managers 

In today's diverse workforce, it's essential for HR managers to have a deep understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Around 42.5 million Americans¹ have a disability that impacts their work, leaving HR teams with an important role in creating an equal and inclusive environment.

If an employee doesn't know when or if they'll return to work, what do you do?

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), “indefinite leave – meaning an employee cannot say if and when they will able to return to work at all – will constitute an undue hardship and so does not have to be provided as a reasonable accommodation."²

That sounds tricky to define, which is why the ADA recommends each request undergo an individual analysis. Part of HR managers' jobs is to look at the wholistic impacts that leave is having on the business, including the employee’s ability to say when they can return to work and stay at work.

Even if the employee has given a return-to-work date, providing leave can still be an undue hardship. To determine if the providing accommodation will constitute an undue hardship, you can factor in the following: employee’s previously granted leave, amount/length of leave being requested, the frequency of leave, how flexible the employee is with leave dates, if intermittent leave is predictable or not, how the leave will affect coworkers or job duties and the overall impact it has on business operations. Each of these factors can help assess whether indefinite leave is appropriate or not.

It seems we're in our "work-from-home" era with more employees defaulting to telecommuting requests versus exploring other options like receiving workplace accommodations.

It's common to see a telecommuting request when a health care provider says an employee can't drive but driving isn't a part of their essential job functions. While employers are not always obligated to make accommodations for how an employee gets to and from work, circuit court opinions indicate they may be obligated to address any challenges presented by commuting or travel restrictions. For example, if an employee works at night but can't drive in the dark, allowing them to switch to a day shift could be one way to accommodate them.

Sometimes it's appropriate to place an employee on leave even if they haven’t requested it for their safety and the safety of other employees. Let's say you have an establishment that requires special non-slip footwear for safety reasons. If an employee returns to work with a broken foot and a walking cast, but the walking cast doesn't have anti-skid features, you can place the employee on leave if there are no other effective accommodation options.

The ADA calls this a direct-threat situation. When faced with a potential direct threat, employers should use the interactive process to find reasonable accommodations before putting employees on leave. If no reasonable accommodations can be found, placing employees on leave until they can safely do their job may be the answer.

According to the EEOC, employers can ask for documents that are sufficient to describe an employee's impairment and how it affects their ability to do their job. This information is sometimes needed to determine if a reasonable accommodation is required and identify accommodation options.³

If insufficient information is received, employers have the right to seek more information and clearly defined restrictions when evaluating requests. Certain things like dizziness as a side effect from a medication may be provided as a restriction, but it’s unclear how this impacts the employee’s ability to do their job. In this scenario, employers can ask for clarification of how that dizziness may affect an employee's ability to perform their job functions, such as the ability to walk, use a computer or operate equipment or other relevant job functions.

The ADA requires individual analysis, so they don't have a list of approved types of health care providers. When evaluating requests, employers do have the right to ask that the health care provider have relevant skills, experience and expertise related to the employee’s disability, restrictions or limitations.

For example, say you receive documentation from an employee’s orthopedic doctor stating that the employee has neurological limitations. In this case, you may ask the employee for an evaluation by a neurologist before approving their accommodation.