Reasonable Accommodations: US

This Reasonable Accommodations policy helps your organization comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related federal, state, and local requirements by explaining how applicants and employees can request an accommodation and how you will respond through a timely, good-faith interactive process. It sets clear expectations around common accommodation needs, including disability, pregnancy-related limitations, and religious practices, while reinforcing confidentiality, non-retaliation, and the "undue hardship" limits that may apply under the law.

The History Behind Reasonable Accommodations Policies in the US

Workplace Accommodations rules stem from disability changing from a private medical issue to a workplace access issue, thanks to US civil rights law. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 put accommodation duties on federal agencies and federal contractors and introduced the idea that qualified workers with disabilities should get adjustments that let them do the job. Congress then made the concept apply generally with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which required covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.

Courts and regulators filled in the details and employers responded with written policies. The Supreme Court narrowed parts of the ADA in Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. (1999) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams (2002), which pushed many employees out of coverage and created confusion over who counted as "disabled." Congress reversed that approach with the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which basically told everyone to spend less time litigating definitions and more time addressing accommodations. EEOC guidance and enforcement then put the "interactive process" front and center, so employers had a clear expectation to communicate, document, and look for workable options.

Accommodation policies also expanded because the list of protected needs expanded. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has long required reasonable accommodation for religion, and the Supreme Court's decision in Groff v. DeJoy (2023) raised the bar for denying religious accommodations by tightening what counts as "undue hardship." Pregnancy accommodation became a sharper compliance focus after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and again with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in 2023, plus a wave of state and local accommodation laws that often go further than federal rules.

Post-COVID, organizations with return-to-office mandates have seen a surge of reasonable accommodation requests from employees clinging to their remote work lifestyle.

Which Law is the Reasonable Accommodations Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Reasonable Accommodations Policy for your US-based employees, it's in an effort to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

How to Write a US Reasonable Accommodations Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by stating your organization supports an accessible, inclusive workplace and will comply with accommodation laws.
• Define the types of needs your policy covers, such as disability, pregnancy-related needs, religious practices, and other legally protected reasons.
• Explain how employees and applicants can request an accommodation through a clear request channel.
• State that your organization may proactively raise the topic when it appears an accommodation could help, without requiring anyone to accept an accommodation.
• Commit to an interactive process to evaluate requests and identify effective accommodation options.
• Clarify that the outcome may include alternatives to the requested accommodation and that accommodations are limited by undue hardship.
• Address documentation by noting you may request supporting information and will keep it confidential.
• Include a non-retaliation commitment for requesting, using, or participating in the accommodation process.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

Even when notice is not required, this is still the kind of policy most employers should put in their handbook or otherwise publish to employees. It answers a question employees will ask, sets expectations, and gives managers a consistent script. If you don't include it, you'll end up explaining it ad hoc, and that's when inconsistency, resentment, and accidental noncompliance shows up. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to US employers who have at least 15 employees working in the US.

Exceptions

None.