Running the Interactive Process: An ADA Accommodation Playbook

When the duty starts

A request is not a form, and it is not a vocabulary test. The duty to engage begins the moment an employee — or someone speaking for them — says they need a change at work because of a medical condition. No one has to say “ADA,” “disability,” or “accommodation,” and the request can be spoken or written. “I’m having trouble getting in on time because of my treatments,” “I need six weeks off for my back,” and “my wheelchair won’t fit under my desk” are all requests. Train supervisors to recognize them, because the clock and the obligation both start there.

Occasionally you must open the dialogue with no request at all — where you know an employee has a disability, know or have reason to know it is causing workplace problems, and know or have reason to know the disability is what keeps them from asking. When in doubt, start the conversation. Initiating is cheap; silence is what gets litigated.

The six steps

1. Recognize and acknowledge — promptly.

   Treat the request as triggered the day it arrives. Acknowledge it in writing the same or next business day, and assign a point person — usually HR — so it does not die in a manager’s inbox. Most failure-to-accommodate cases are built on delay, not denial.

2. Gather information and clarify the need.

   Open a dialogue about functional limitations versus the job’s essential functions. If the disability or the need is not obvious, you may request reasonable documentation — limited to verifying the disability and why the accommodation is needed (nature, severity, duration, the major life activity affected). Use a limited medical release; do not demand full records or unrelated history. You may require your own exam, at your expense, only if existing documentation is insufficient and the exam is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Keep all medical information confidential — separate file, need-to-know only.

3. Explore accommodations collaboratively.

   Brainstorm options together. Give primary consideration to the employee’s preference, but you may choose among effective alternatives: you owe an effective accommodation, not necessarily the favorite one. Weigh effectiveness, feasibility, cost, and operational impact; a trial period can resolve a close call. Reassignment to a vacant position is a last resort, not an opening move.

4. Evaluate undue hardship and decide.

   Undue hardship means significant difficulty or expense, judged case by case against the accommodation’s nature and cost and your organization’s resources, size, facilities, and operations — counting net cost after any tax credits or outside funding. Speculation will not carry it. Then put the decision in writing: what you considered, what you are providing or why you are denying it, and the next step.

5. Implement promptly.

   Once decided, move. Unreasonable delay in delivering an agreed accommodation is itself a breakdown in the process. Brief the staff who need to know, and confirm the accommodation is actually in place rather than merely approved.

6. Monitor and follow up.

   The duty continues. Check in periodically — annually, or whenever the job or the condition changes. For leave without a fixed return date, require reasonable periodic updates. Both sides must keep engaging in good faith; an employee who refuses to participate can defeat their own claim.

Michigan: the PWDCRA overlay

This section is Michigan-specific. The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA), MCL § 37.1101 et seq., runs alongside the ADA and in places reaches further. Where both apply, comply with the stricter, more protective standard; for smaller Michigan employers the PWDCRA often controls, and courts look to federal precedent to interpret it. Treat the citations below as a starting point and confirm the current statute.

• Far broader coverage. The PWDCRA has no 15-employee floor — it reaches virtually every Michigan employer. A two-person shop outside the ADA can still owe accommodation here.
• Statutory cost caps. MCL § 37.1210 caps the cost of certain equipment and devices by employer size, expressed as multiples of the Michigan “state average weekly wage.” That wage figure updates, so confirm the current dollar amount before relying on it; the multiples are below.
• Job restructuring is limited. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are not required to restructure jobs or alter schedules; where restructuring is required, it reaches only minor or infrequent duties.
• Burden of proof. Under MCL § 37.1210(1), the burden stays with the employee, who must make out a prima facie case and then carries the burden on undue hardship as well; confirm the current allocation before relying on it.

Caps for readers and interpreters follow a similar size-scaled structure, with higher multiples in the first year than in later years — again, confirm the current figures against the operative law. These dollar caps are a creature of Michigan statute and have no ADA equivalent.

The 182-day written-notice defense (Michigan)

This is the PWDCRA’s sharpest procedural tool, and it exists only under Michigan law. Under MCL § 37.1210(18)–(19), cross-referenced in MCL § 37.1606(5), an employee or applicant may bring a failure-to-accommodate claim only if they notified the employer in writing of the need within 182 days after they knew or should have known an accommodation was needed. But there is a string attached — see the callout.

Pitfalls that create liability

• Delaying or ignoring a request, including an implied one.
• Failing to document the dialogue, the options, and the rationale.
• Demanding excessive or irrelevant medical information.
• Predetermining the outcome or refusing to consider alternatives.
• Forgetting to monitor — or breaching confidentiality.

The employee can sink the claim too: refusing reasonable documentation, declining to participate, or insisting on one accommodation when others would work. And remember the outer limit on what you must offer — a proposed accommodation that would eliminate or fundamentally alter an essential function is generally not reasonable. A clear essential-function analysis and a genuine interactive process are what carry the day.

Document as you go

The file is the defense. Capture the date and manner of the request; dated summaries of each meeting (who, what, options weighed); medical documents received (kept confidential); every accommodation explored and why it was accepted or rejected; the final decision and its rationale; and implementation and follow-up notes. A dedicated accommodation log, standardized forms, and email confirmations of verbal conversations make this routine rather than heroic. In Michigan, also document that you gave the 182-day notice.