Handle ADA Accommodation Requests with Clear, Documented Steps

An ADA reasonable accommodation attorney for a Florida employer helps you answer a worker’s request for a change at work and document that answer. In short, respond promptly, in writing, and through a step-by-step review of the job and the request. This page explains that process, the limits you can raise, and the deadlines that matter in Florida. KEW Legal is a Florida business law firm with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. The firm acts as outside general counsel for business owners and employers across Miami-Dade and South Florida.

What the reasonable accommodation duty means for Florida employers

A reasonable accommodation is a change to the job, the workplace, or the hiring process. It lets a qualified employee with a disability perform the essential parts of the job. Employers should consider these requests, not ignore them.

Florida’s civil rights law uses the word “handicap” instead of “disability.” It makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge or refuse to hire someone, or to discriminate in pay or working conditions, because of handicap (Fla. Stat. § 760.10).

The state law counts as an “employer” any business with 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (Fla. Stat. § 760.02). The law is to be read liberally to serve its purposes (Fla. Stat. § 760.01).

This page is for owners, executives, and HR managers who face a request, a leave question, or an agency charge. You need to know your next step.

When does an accommodation request start the process?

A request starts the process once you know an employee may need a change because of a medical condition. The request doesn’t need special words. An employee can ask in person, by phone, or in writing. A family member or doctor can also make the request for them.

Common requests include:

• A modified schedule or start time
• Remote work on some or all days
• Leave as an accommodation
• Equipment, software, or a workstation change
• Reassigning minor tasks that aren’t central to the job
• A change to a workplace policy

Write down the date, the form of the request, and what was said. A clear record helps you show what you did and why.

How does the interactive process work, step by step?

The interactive process is the back-and-forth talk where you and the employee work out a workable accommodation. A common path looks like this:

1. Acknowledge the request in writing and say you are reviewing it.
2. Identify the essential functions of the job and the limit the employee describes.
3. Talk through options, including any the employee suggests.
4. Weigh each option for how well it works, its cost, and its effect on operations.
5. Decide, put the decision in writing, and keep notes of each meeting.
6. Revisit the arrangement if the condition or the job changes.

Most requests move through these steps in days or a few weeks. Complex medical questions or major job changes can take longer.

What limits can an employer raise, and when?

Federal disability law recognizes limits such as undue hardship and direct threat. Whether any limit applies depends on the facts.

Reassigning minor, marginal tasks is handled differently.

Common mistakes include denying a request without talking to the employee, relying on a generic policy, and treating a doctor’s note as the end of the review.

What medical information can you ask for, and who should see it?

Keep that information confidential.

In practice:

• Keep questions narrow. Ask what the limit is and what changes would help. Don’t ask for a full medical history.
• Store medical records in a separate confidential file, not the general personnel file.
• Tell supervisors only the work changes they must make, not the diagnosis.

Florida’s civil rights law protects workers from discrimination because of handicap.

What are the charge deadlines, and what about retaliation?

An employee who believes they were denied an accommodation can file a charge with a government agency, and the deadlines are short.

Florida’s process runs on its own clock. If the commission finds no reasonable cause and dismisses the complaint, the aggrieved person may request an administrative hearing.

Retaliation is a separate issue. Fla. Stat. § 760.10 makes it unlawful for an employer, an employment agency, a joint labor-management committee, or a labor organization to discriminate against someone because they opposed an unlawful employment practice or took part in a charge, investigation, or proceeding under this section. Retaliation can create liability even if the original accommodation decision was sound.

Florida is an at-will employment state. Still, an at-will employee can’t be fired for a reason the law prohibits, such as retaliation or unlawful discrimination (Fourth District at-will ruling).

How does KEW Legal help employers with accommodation matters?

KEW Legal helps employers handle accommodation requests, leave questions, and agency charges as outside general counsel. The firm focuses on business law for employers in Miami-Dade and South Florida, with offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.

Kristina E. Wilson is the responsible lawyer for this page. Natalie Martinez is also one of the firm’s lawyers.

The outside general counsel model means the firm reviews the request, the company’s policies, and the documentation trail. That helps management respond the same way across matters.

A matter may be better handled by another lawyer or firm. If that’s the case, the firm will tell you so.

The first consultation is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation to continue. You can call 305-990-2300.

Frequently asked questions

Florida’s employer threshold is 15 or more employees, and the rest of the picture depends on your facts. Here are answers to common questions employers ask.

Headcount is the starting point, and your workforce facts decide the rest.

How should we respond to an accommodation request?