Do you have a disability that makes is hard to get your job done?

If:

• you work for an employer that has fifteen or more employees (or, if you work in Virginia, an employer with six or more employees; or, if you work in DC, an employer of any size),

And:

• you are able to perform the essential functions of your job, but still need some help because of your disability,

you may ask your employer to provide a reasonable accommodation for you at work.

What you ask for depends on how you are disabled and how your disability affects your ability to get your job done. The accommodation you seek must be closely tailored to fit your needs, but you may find the suggestions here http://askjan.org/ to be helpful.

You will need to talk to your employer (or the HR Department – check your company’s policies), describe your disability and how it affects you at work, and what you think the company could do to make your doing your job easier despite your disability.

Your employer may ask that you have your doctor to provide information on the disability and how it affects you. And your employer may have a counterproposal for how to accommodate your disability. The two of you should talk about the best way to accommodate your disability at work. It may take some trial and error to find the accommodation that will make it possible for you to work better despite your disability.

If you have questions or need help negotiating with your employer about an accommodation, please contact us.  We are happy to help.

If your employer refuses to discuss with you ways of accommodating your disability, you should also talk to us. You may have a claim for disability discrimination under federal and state law.

And if your employer takes any negative action against you when you let your employer know about your disability and ask for an accommodation, you should also talk to us. You may have a claim for disability discrimination under federal and state law.