Unpaid leave isn’t always a reasonable accommodation under the ADA

On August 5, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (whose rulings apply to all employers in Maryland and Virginia) issued an opinion vacating a lower court’s ruling that unpaid leave was a reasonable accommodation for a permanent disability.

Employee’s injury leads to request for reassignment 

Ibrahima Dieng, a pest control technician for Orkin, suffered an injury that left him with a permanent disability. After a period of recovery, his physician cleared him to return to work in a limited capacity because he could no longer perform all the physical demands of the technician position. He submitted this medical documentation to Orkin.

Dieng reached out to his branch manager multiple times about returning to a less physically demanding position. He identified specific alternative positions he believed he could perform based on his skillset. His manager said only that he wasn’t aware of any available positions, and Orkin otherwise only minimally engaged with Dieng or didn’t respond. Dieng remained on unpaid leave for 16 months until he resigned.

Ineffective accommodation isn’t reasonable

Dieng sued Orkin under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), alleging that Orkin failed to reasonably accommodate his disability. The district court ruled in favor of Orkin, concluding that placing Dieng on indefinite, unpaid leave was a reasonable accommodation. The 4th Circuit disagreed.