A Doctor’s Note is a Request for an Accommodation that Should Start an Interactive Dialogue

School district administrators need to remember that when an employee presents a doctor’s note recommending a leave of absence, a particular work restriction or job modification, it should be treated as a request for a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or the New York State Human Rights Law (HRL). However, the precise accommodation that the District ultimately offers may not necessarily be the one initially requested by the employee or his or her doctor.

Such a request requires the employer to engage the employee (and more than likely the employee’s doctor) in an “interactive dialogue” about the employee’s functional limitations and possible effective accommodations. The process for engaging in an interactive dialogue is outlined below. As with all such procedures, open lines of communication and clearly defined steps help to facilitate the process and achieve positive outcomes for both employers and employees.

Identify Essential Functions of Job: To facilitate the accommodation process, employers should consider developing and maintaining a detailed description for each job that lists its essential functions and duties. Such descriptions should focus on a job, not a person. For example, a janitorial position may require that trash cans be emptied into larger dumpsters. The essential function of this job is that the trash cans must be emptied into the dumpster, not that a person must be able to lift the cans high enough to empty them. When developing job descriptions, all aspects of a job should be taken into consideration. In addition to specific tasks, descriptions should include details such as scheduling and location, equipment necessary to complete the job, and conduct requirements. For example, specific tasks for an assistant’s job may include answering and accurately directing phone calls, greeting and checking in visitors, and transcribing and filing documents. The assistant must use a phone and computer. He or she must be available in the District office during regular office hours and be pleasant to callers and visitors.

Identify Employee’s Functional Limitations: When a reasonable accommodation is needed to perform essential job functions, the Federal and State laws require the employer and employee to discuss the employee’s functional limitations and determine where they intersect with his or her duties. This is called an interactive process or dialogue. During this process, the discussion should focus on a person’s essential job tasks and the physical functions necessary to complete them, not his or her disability. Again, using the assistant’s job as an example, if the person hired for the position uses a wheelchair, the functional limitation might be that he or she cannot roll his or her wheelchair under the desk in the office. Perhaps he or she has dyslexia and cannot accurately write down phone numbers in messages. Perhaps he or she has severe repetition motion syndrome and has difficulty typing. Once the limitation is identified, the employer should then identify the type of accommodations that might be available to allow this otherwise qualified individual to perform the specific tasks.

Identify Effective Accommodations: Sometimes, an employee with a disability is aware of the modifications he or she needs to perform certain tasks. Other times, devising an effective accommodation requires creative and collaborative thinking. It is important to remember that accommodations are not limited to adjustments to a physical work environment. They may involve changes to the way a job is done or structured, modified workplace policies and procedures, adjusted work schedules, swapping or eliminating marginal functions, etc.

Determine Which Accommodations are Reasonable: The ADA/HRL require employers to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Undue hardship refers not only to financial difficulty, but also to accommodations that are unduly extensive or disruptive or would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business. A determination that a particular accommodation would cause an undue hardship should consider the nature and cost of the accommodation, the level of disruption it may cause to students or the overall operation of the district, the organization’s overall financial resources, the number of persons it employs and the accommodation’s impact on organization’s operations and its expenses and resources.

Choose the Accommodation that is Effective: An employer has the final say on which accommodation is implemented, based on factors such as cost, effectiveness, and feasibility. In other words, the employer may choose among reasonable accommodations as long as the chosen accommodation is effective. Thus, as part of the interactive process, the employer may offer alternative suggestions for reasonable accommodations and discuss their effectiveness in removing the barrier that is impeding the individual’s ability to perform the essential functions of the job. If there are two possible reasonable accommodations, and one costs more or is more burdensome than the other, the employer may choose the less expensive or less burdensome accommodation as long as it is effective. Similarly, when there are two or more effective accommodations, the employer may choose the one that is easier to provide. In either situation, the employer does not have to show that it is an undue hardship to provide the more expensive or more difficult accommodation. While an employee’s preferences should be considered, the employer providing the accommodation has the ultimate discretion to choose between effective accommodations.

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