How to navigate the deluge of disability-related remote work accommodation requests

Many employers instituted work-from-home policies during the COVID pandemic that they are now fine-tuning or rethinking. While telework technology advances and return to on-site work initiatives unfold, employers must navigate part-time and full-time remote work requests, including ones lodged under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This article outlines how to navigate a request for remote work related to a disability with examples of recent decisions that affect employers in Colorado.

Processing remote work requests

Generally, a remote work accommodation request should be processed like any other accommodation request. The ADA requires you to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees that will allow them to perform their essential job functions, so long as it doesn’t constitute an undue hardship for your business. An employer’s failure to provide such accommodations, or actions an employer takes against an employee in response to such a request, may result in an ADA claim for disability discrimination or retaliation. As a result, each remote work accommodation request must be considered individually even if you have a policy that generally prohibits working from home.

A remote work accommodation request begins when the employee gives adequate notice. You aren’t required to solicit input from employees about whether on-site work will conflict with a disability, even when implementing sweeping policies such as returning to the office (RTO).