Every year, courts and the EEOC provide employers with new lessons about how leave and accommodation programs hold up under scrutiny. In many cases, exposure results not from the decision to grant or deny a request, but from how the request was handled throughout the process. This session examines five core challenge areas through recent federal court decisions, jury verdicts, and EEOC enforcement actions. Using these developments as a foundation, the session presents five practical case studies covering some of the issues absence and accommodation professionals encounter most often, including remote work as an accommodation, the interactive process and what “reasonable” really means, extended leave for mental health conditions, bright-line rules in hiring and rehire practices, the evolving PUMP Act and PWFA landscape, and FMLA interference and retaliation.

For each case study, Matt Morris will review what happened, explain what the court or agency actually held, and, most importantly, identify the specific administrative practice that created the risk. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of where courts are drawing lines in 2026, practical language for responding to business partners seeking a quick “no,” and case study summary they can take back to their teams for training and process review.