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What to Include in Your Reasonable Accommodation Letter
In your reasonable accommodation letter, you should provide all the
information your employer will need to begin the accommodation process,
including what your disability is, how it affects you, which aspects of your job
might require modification, and proposed accommodations. Here’s a checklist
of facts to include:
Your name and position. Even if you are writing to some who knows
you well—such as your immediate supervisor—your letter may have to
go up the management chain, to the HR department, or to other people
who aren’t familiar with your situation.
The date. This may prove important later, if you and your employer
dispute whether and when you requested an accommodation.
Information about your disability. Identify your disability and briefly
describe how it affects your ability to do the job.
A request for accommodation. Don’t forget the point of the letter: to
ask for a reasonable accommodation.
Accommodation ideas. If you know what you need, don’t be afraid to
come right out and say it. If there are a variety of options, briefly
describe them.
Medical information. You may want to attach a letter from your doctor,
briefly describing your condition and limitations. Or, you could offer to
provide such documentation on request.
Sample Reasonable Accommodation Letter
Here's an example of a reasonable accommodation letter, written by an
employee who has depression and needs some scheduling changes.
March 13, 2018
To: Bob Jones, HR Director
From: Sarah Smith, Customer Service Representative
Dear Mr. Jones,
I am a customer service representative in the Omaha call center. I work 40
hours a week, including four shifts in the office and one at home.
I was recently diagnosed with major depression. As a person with a disability
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I am requesting reasonable
accommodation to allow me to perform my job duties. I am currently taking
medication for my disability that makes me groggy and slow to get started in
the morning. I would like to change my work schedule so that I start work at
10 a.m. rather than 8:30 a.m., to make sure I don’t miss any work and can
work efficiently throughout my shift. I will also need two hours off every week
to meet with my psychiatrist.
Please let me know if you need medical documentation of my disability and
need for accommodation. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss
options for accommodating my disability.
Sincerely,
Sarah Smith
What Happens Next
Once your employer receives your request, it is legally obligated to work with
you to come up with a reasonable accommodation, if possible. The law
describes this obligation as the duty to engage in a “flexible, interactive
process.” Your employer doesn’t have to provide the specific accommodation
you request, but it must work with you to come up with an effective
accommodation. For Sarah Smith, in the example above, the employer might
want to move her to a later shift—say, one that starts at noon—instead of
moving her start time to 10 a.m. Or, the employer might want her to make up
her missed hours by working a sixth day, rather than working later on her
scheduled days. Whatever accommodation you and your employer agree on,
you should put it in writing, signed and dated by both of you.
An employer need not provide a reasonable accommodation if it would create
an undue hardship: significant difficulty or expense, considering the cost of the
accommodation, the size and financial resources of the business, the
structure of the business, and how the accommodation would affect the
business.
If you believe you have been unfairly denied a reasonable accommodation,
whether because your employer never responded to your letter, your
employer provided an accommodation that didn’t solve the problem, or your
employer claimed that no accommodation was possible without undue
hardship, you should contact an experienced disability discrimination attorney
for help.
