When an employee requests an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this sets into motion an interactive process intended to determine whether the requested accommodation is both reasonable and effective. In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a long delay in making the accommodation decision can constitute an ADA violation.

In Strife v. Aldine Independent School Dist., the plaintiff worked in the district’s human resources department. Due to military service-related physical injuries and PTSD, she requested that her service dog be allowed to accompany her to work. In support of this request, the employee provided a note from her Veterans Affairs physician confirming the medical need for the accommodation. While the school district did not reject the request, it required the plaintiff to undergo an independent medical examination to confirm the need for the animal at work, despite the fact that she provided four additional letters from her treating physicians supporting the request. Six months after making the accommodation request, the employer allowed the plaintiff to bring her service dog to work. However, she sued, alleging that the long delay in granting the request violated the ADA.

The Fifth Circuit agreed, vacating a grant of summary judgment for the employer, and remanding the case for trial. While the ADA does not mandate a time period for completing the interactive process, a long delay in this review can violate the employee’s rights. A jury can determine whether the delay resulted from a lack of good faith in considering the accommodation request. Despite this finding, the Fifth Circuit rejected the plaintiff’s claims that she was not provided (eventually) with a reasonable accommodation, or that the delay constituted harassment or retaliation against her.

Employers can request independent medical examinations under the ADA, but practically, these can take months to schedule and complete. In situations where an employee provides reasonably clear medical confirmation of the need for an accommodation, requesting a separate medical review risks delaying the interactive process to the point where the lack of a prompt response can create an independent legal liability for the employer.

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