EEOC Reasonable Accommodations Lawyer

What Is Considered a Disability Under Federal Law?

For federal employment purposes, a disability is generally a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The definition also covers employees with a history of such an impairment and employees who face discrimination because they are perceived as disabled, even if they don’t have an active limiting condition. A condition doesn’t need to be permanent, severe, or continuous to qualify. Episodic conditions may meet the standard based on their limitations when active, and the analysis focuses on what the impairment actually restricts rather than its label or diagnosis.

A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity, such as:

• Hearing
• Seeing
• Speaking
• Walking
• Breathing
• Performing manual tasks
• Caring for oneself
• Learning or working

Featured Case Result

The firm’s attorney negotiated a $245,000 settlement exclusive of fees and forgiveness of all advanced sick leave taken as a result of the agency’s failure to offer telework to a Human Resources Specialist with multiple sclerosis. Read more client success stories…

The Agency’s Obligation to Provide Effective Reasonable Accommodation

Federal agencies have a legal obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees with disabilities unless doing so would cause undue hardship. The accommodation must be effective, meaning it must actually address the employee’s functional limitations in relation to the essential functions of the position. An agency evaluates accommodation requests by considering the employee’s limitations, the essential job functions, the work environment, the effectiveness of proposed options, and whether alternatives exist.

An accommodation isn’t required to be the employee’s preferred choice, but it must be genuinely effective. A conclusory agency assertion that a request is inconvenient or expensive doesn’t establish undue hardship. Pines Federal evaluates whether an agency’s response is legally sufficient and whether the accommodation offered, if any, actually addresses the employee’s needs.

A reasonable accommodation is a change in the working environment to enable the employee to perform the job, which can include:

• Providing interpreters or readers
• Modification of job duties
• Wheelchair access
• Accessible parking
• Readers for visually impaired workers
• Restructuring or flexible work sites
• Modified work schedules or air temperature
• Periodic breaks
• Working at home
• A private area to take self-medical tests
• Extra training
• A detailed schedule for completing tasks
• Accessibility technology
• Adaptive equipment
• Reassignment to a different, vacant position

Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation as a Federal Employee

A federal accommodation request may be oral or written and doesn’t require special wording or a formal form. The request communicates that a change at work is needed because of a medical condition. Once the request is made, the agency may seek relevant medical documentation when the disability or need for accommodation isn’t obvious from the circumstances.

The employee or their federal reasonable accommodations attorney should explain that an adjustment at work is needed because of a medical condition and how the condition affects the employee’s ability to work. For example, if a wheelchair doesn’t fit under a workstation, that is a straightforward request for a physical adjustment. A request for extended leave to address a medical condition is another recognized form of accommodation request. Pines Federal assists federal employees with evaluating how much medical information an agency may legitimately request and at what point an agency has sought more than is appropriate.

WHAT HAPPENED: An SSA employee had reasonable accommodations that a new supervisor revoked. The firm recovered $65,300 in compensatory damages plus attorney fees.

The Process of Requesting Accommodations for Federal Employees

The process of obtaining adequate accommodations or disability benefits under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 can be complex. It involves agency-specific procedures, tight deadlines, and legal standards that differ from private-sector employment law.

The firm’s attorneys assist federal employees with every step of the process, including:

Determining Whether You Have a Disability

The first step is determining whether you have a disability under the applicable legal standard. The answer matters and can differ depending on whether the goal is reasonable accommodation or OPM Disability Retirement. To qualify for accommodations under the Rehabilitation Act, a federal employee must establish that they have a qualifying disability and that they can still perform the essential functions of the job if given reasonable accommodation.

OPM disability retirement applies a different standard to employees who can’t perform the essential functions of their position because of a disability. The legal team at Pines Federal evaluates which standard applies and whether accommodation or disability benefits may be appropriate.

Informing the Agency of a Disability & Providing Medical Proof

This can be a formal process involving a reasonable accommodation request form or a more informal discussion with a supervisor or manager. At this stage, the agency may request medical documentation of the disability. Pines Federal assists federal employees with evaluating how much medical information an agency may request and whether a particular documentation request is appropriately connected to the disability, the functional limitation, and the need for accommodation rather than the employee’s full medical history.

The Interactive Process

The interactive process is the technical name for the back-and-forth discussions between the employee and the agency, whether involving a supervisor, an agency EEO office, or civil-rights personnel, about the need for and nature of a reasonable accommodation. The agency must engage in a meaningful exchange as the parties work toward an effective solution. The interactive process considers the employee’s limitations, the essential job functions, workplace conditions, and the effectiveness of proposed accommodations and alternatives.

A federal agency’s failure to communicate, consider alternatives, or provide a reasoned response can create a fact-specific accommodation or discrimination issue. Pines Federal helps federal employees evaluate whether the agency meaningfully addressed the request and whether the proposed options were legally adequate.

Undue Hardship

For every federal employee who has a qualifying disability and can perform essential job duties with reasonable accommodation, the employing agency is required to provide effective accommodation unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Undue hardship is assessed using objective information about the agency’s size, resources, and operations. It may involve significant difficulty, expense, operational impact, or a fundamental alteration of the nature of the agency’s operations, but a conclusory agency statement that a request is inconvenient isn’t enough to establish the defense. An agency asserting the defense bears the burden of supporting it with objective information. A written denial should identify the specific grounds under federal reasonable-accommodation procedures.

If an employee meets resistance, requesting further discussion about the accommodation or filing with the agency’s EEO or civil-rights office may be necessary. Federal employees generally must contact an agency EEO counselor within 45 days of the alleged discriminatory matter, though recognized exceptions exist. After counseling or an available alternative dispute resolution process, a formal complaint may be filed within a limited period. Pines Federal helps employees determine whether they have a legal entitlement to the accommodation requested and when it is time to pursue formal action.

Featured Case Result

The firm obtained $100,000 in compensatory damages, back pay, and front pay at the hearing for a medical assistant who was routinely denied accommodation and subjected to a hostile work environment for requesting accommodations. Read more client success stories…

What If No Accommodation Is Possible?

If it would be impossible to fulfill essential job functions even with accommodation, or if providing accommodation would cause undue hardship on the agency, a federal employee may consider:

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave: This can be helpful for a temporary disability. FMLA provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. An agency can’t discharge or discipline an employee for taking it.
• OPM Disability Retirement: This is a potential option for long-term disability. OPM Disability Retirement is an early retirement option for disabled federal employees under CSRS or FERS, providing a monthly annuity generally based on the employee’s average salary and years of service.

FMLA leave, reasonable accommodation, OPM Disability Retirement, and SSDI involve different eligibility rules and should be evaluated separately. Reasonable accommodation generally concerns enabling a qualified employee to perform essential job functions, while disability retirement concerns the inability to perform those functions under the applicable retirement standard. The line between a disability that can be accommodated and one that warrants OPM Disability Retirement isn’t always clear. Pines Federal’s attorneys can evaluate how each standard applies to an employee’s medical and employment circumstances.

If an agency can’t provide reasonable accommodation and instead terminates an employee for disciplinary reasons, the employee may face significant obstacles in pursuing OPM Disability Retirement benefits. Pines Federal assists employees in addressing agency action and evaluating its potential effect on available benefits.

Federal employees who have been discriminated against based on disability may be entitled to compensation. Available relief can include recovery of employment-related losses and restoration to the position the employee would have held absent the discrimination. In appropriate cases, employees have recovered back pay, lost promotions, denied reassignments, withheld salary increases, and attorney fees. The specific relief available depends on the claim, the forum, the procedural posture, and the facts of the case.

• Related: Federal Employees May Request Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation
• Essential Functions and Reasonable Accommodation
• What is Undue Hardship?

Can My Employer Ask Questions About My Disability?

Federal agencies face limits on disability-related questions and medical inquiries at different stages of employment. During the application process, an agency generally may not ask whether an applicant is disabled or seek details about the nature or severity of a disability. Questions at that stage are generally limited to whether the applicant can perform the job duties with or without reasonable accommodation. Medical information obtained through the employment process is subject to confidentiality requirements under applicable federal rules.

If a federal employee is already in a position, the agency generally may not ask disability-related questions unless they are connected to the job and consistent with a legitimate business necessity. If an agency has been asking questions about a disability for discriminatory reasons, a formal complaint may be appropriate. Pines Federal evaluates whether agency questions or requests for medical information are connected to a legitimate employment purpose.

Featured Case Result

WHAT HAPPENED: The firm’s attorney negotiated a $60,000 settlement on behalf of the estate of a government employee who wasn’t accommodated during the final months of an end-stage disease.

How Pines Federal Assist with Accommodation Requests, Denials, & Related Federal Options

Federal employees facing disability discrimination, agency resistance to accommodation requests, retaliation for requesting accommodation, or questions about disability-benefit options can turn to Pines Federal for legal guidance grounded in federal employment rules. The firm assists with accommodation requests, wrongful denials, revocations, FMLA-related questions, OPM Disability Retirement applications, and SSDI-related decisions. Federal employees who believe they experienced disability discrimination or retaliation generally must follow federal-sector EEO procedures and applicable deadlines, and Pines Federal helps clients understand those requirements and act within them.

The firm represents federal employees nationwide and doesn’t represent employers or private-sector workers. Cases are evaluated under the federal employment standards that govern the client’s agency relationship.

Federal Accommodation Counsel for Employees Nationwide

The attorneys at Pines Federal evaluate requests, agency denials and revocations, retaliation concerns, EEO procedures, and related disability-benefit options under the rules governing federal employment.

Related reading

• Do I need to request Reasonable Accommodation if I want OPM Disability Retirement?
• Reasonable Accommodation vs. OPM Disability
• How Much Must the Agency Pay to Reasonably Accommodate Me?
• The V.A. Wrongly Denied Reasonable Accommodation Request for Service Chief to Telework

Check Out Our “Disability Inclusion in the Workplace” Series

For unique insights from successful business leaders, see attorney Eric Pines’s interview series “Disability Inclusion in the Workplace” on Medium:

• Gregory T. Miller Of Penn-Mar Human Services On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
• Kevin Hanegan Of Qlik
• Tiffany Fixter Of Brewability

Federal employees can contact our law firm to discuss an accommodation or disability-related concern.

Find a Federal Employment EEO Attorney Near You

• EEO Attorneys in Lawrenceville