Employees do not need to use legal language
An employee may start the process by saying they are having difficulty performing part of the job because of a medical condition, pregnancy-related limitation, or disability. Managers should know how to route that statement even when the employee never says “ADA,” “reasonable accommodation,” or “interactive process.”
Six stages of a practical accommodation workflow
- Recognition and intake. Record the employee’s request in their own words and identify the immediate work barrier.
- Job-focused clarification. Confirm the essential functions, schedule, environment, and operational requirements involved.
- Information review. Determine whether additional information is actually needed and request only information relevant to the functional limitation and accommodation.
- Options discussion. Invite the employee’s ideas, consider effective alternatives, and assess each option individually.
- Decision and implementation. Document the selected option, responsibilities, timing, confidentiality boundaries, and any reason an alternative was chosen.
- Follow-up. Check whether the accommodation is working and reopen the discussion when circumstances change.
Common options worth exploring
Depending on the job and individual circumstances, options may include additional breaks, modified schedules, seating, ergonomic equipment, changes to how marginal tasks are performed, accessible technology, communication support, leave, or reassignment review. No list determines the answer for a particular employee.
What managers should receive
A manager usually needs clear implementation instructions: what changes, when it starts, who is responsible, how long it will be reviewed, and whom to contact with problems. Medical information should be restricted and stored separately.
Document the analysis—not just the outcome
A useful record shows the request, job-related barrier, options considered, employee input, operational analysis, decision, implementation plan, and follow-up. Avoid conclusory labels such as “too difficult” or “not fair to others.”
Use an editable structure
The Employer Leave and Accommodation Starter Toolkit includes interactive-process, options, decision, implementation, and follow-up worksheets, plus manager routing language and a broader leave workflow for cases where accommodation and time away overlap.
Accommodation + leave worksheets
Federal baseline · immediate delivery · no subscription
$59Official accommodation resources
Start with current guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and practical resources from the Job Accommodation Network. State and local protections may differ. This page is educational and operational information, not legal advice.