The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), prohibit discrimination against employees with disabilities in all employment practices. The County has an affirmative duty to provide effective and reasonable accommodations for the employee with a disability that will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their position, unless it can be demonstrated that the accommodation would pose an undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense, significant impact to operations, or putting the employee or others at risk).
Engaging in a timely, good faith, interactive process is required, including an individualized assessment of both the essential functions of the job and the specific physical and non-physical restrictions of the employee directly related to the need for reasonable accommodation. This also includes timely issuance of agreed upon equipment, and modifications to the workspace, work schedule, and/or policies.
Both the employee and the department must make a good faith effort to cooperate in all aspects of the reasonable accommodation process. At no time should the employee be subject to harassment, retaliation, or other forms of discrimination for participating in this process.
Requests for Accommodation
The law does not require employees to use certain words or complete specific forms to request a reasonable accommodation, but it does require the employee to provide adequate or sufficient information for the employer to understand restrictions/limitations that may need accommodation. The Interactive Process begins when any of the following occurs:
Employee submits a completed “Reasonable Accommodation Request" form.
Employee submits a medical note with restrictions/limitations.
Employee states they cannot perform an essential function of the job or is having difficulty with job duties/work environment due to a medical condition.
Manager or supervisor becomes aware of the possible need for accommodation by observation or through a third party.
Employee exhausts leave under FMLA/CFRA and the employee's health care provider indicates further leave is necessary.
Medical Documentation
Medical documentation provided by the employee needs to clearly indicate the employee has a disability under ADA or FEHA, identify restrictions, and duration of the disability and/or restrictions. Sometimes medical documentation may also identify possible accommodations. If the medical documentation is insufficient or only recommends an accommodation, the employee may be required to provide additional documentation.
The employee shall not be asked to disclose the underlying medical cause of the disability or to provide medical information beyond what is needed to support the request for accommodation under consideration.
If there are concerns with the medical documentation provided, the employee is notified of the specific information required and a reasonable time frame to provide the documentation. During this period, temporary accommodations may be considered for a limited time.
Once updated medical documentation is provided, the interactive process resumes. If additional information is not received after a reasonable period of time, the interactive process will continue and the requested accommodation will be discussed to the extent that it is supported by the medical documentation provided to date. If provided medical documentation is not sufficient, the interactive process could end.
Response to Requests
Supervisor, Manager, or DPS acknowledges the request in a timely manner. The department and the employee interact timely and in good faith.
Interactive Dialogue/Meetings
Interactive meetings occur and may include:
- Employee
- Employee's Union Representative or other Support Person (if employee chooses to have one present)
- Supervisor and/or Manager (should be able to speak to employee's essential functions and should have authority to agree to accommodations on department's behalf)
- DPS Representative(s)
During the meeting, the following is discussed:
Restrictions and limitations stated by employee and/or supported by medical documentation, including expected duration.
Each restriction's impact on job performance.
Potential reasonable accommodations and their effectiveness in enabling the employee to perform the essential functions of their position.
Any departmental concerns with requested accommodation.
Agreement regarding reasonable accommodations to be provided. Note that the accommodation preferred by the employee shall be considered first, but that the department may implement any accommodation that is effective in allowing the employee to perform the essential functions of their job.
Agreement regarding any additional information necessary and assignment of responsibility for follow-up.
If requested accommodation is denied, the department Supervisor/Manager needs to articulate the business reasons the request is not reasonable.
Documentation
The supervisor/manager or DPS documents the discussion/meeting. Documentation needs to be the Interactive Process Summary Form or email and needs to include the following:
Initiating event(s)
Date(s) of the discussion/meeting
Names and titles of all meeting participants
Medical restrictions
Specific employee requests for accommodation based on the medical restrictions
All potential accommodations identified (and why ruled out)
Accommodation(s) ultimately agreed to, including any relevant dates (beginning/end date if applicable, or the date when the equipment was installed, etc.)
Next steps or subsequent actions to be taken.
Documentation is emailed to the employee, DPS, and department participants. A copy is kept in the employee's confidential medical file.
Documentation will be changed if there is a clear error. Employees may keep notes for their own records. No recording is allowed.
Follow up
Check-ins with the employee should be held at reasonable intervals and based on the accommodation to ensure the accommodation is effective. The check-ins can be formal or informal in nature and should be documented.
The employee, or department, may also re-engage in the interactive process at any time. Reasons may include:
- the accommodation is no longer effective as determined by the employee or department,
- the employee's medical condition or restrictions have changed (with supporting medical information if necessary), or
- the business needs have changed that make the accommodation no longer feasible.
If the restriction(s) are permanent and the department has demonstrated through the interactive process that employee's restriction(s) cannot be accommodated in the employee's current position, reassignment to another vacant position may be considered as an accommodation.
If reassignment to another position is infeasible or exhausted, and the employee remains unable to perform the essential duties of their position, the employee applies for service and/or disability retirement, or resigns. If the employee does not retire or resign, the County may apply for disability retirement on the employee's behalf and consider medical termination.
Revised May 2025
