Open communication before the employee’s return can help ensure a much smoother back-to-work transition. If accommodations are needed, they can be implemented from day one of the return. Employees who experience anxiety at returning to work after a leave may feel more at ease and acclimate more quickly when they have what they need.

According to guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employer may reach out to an employee a week prior to the end of a scheduled leave period to ask whether the employee is able to return to work at the end of leave and if any additional accommodations are required. An employer is not permitted to ask an employee on leave to provide periodic updates, but limited requests for information like the above are acceptable. If necessary, an employer should initiate the interactive process upon receiving a request for reasonable accommodation from an employee on leave for a disability who wants to return to work (or after receiving a doctor’s note outlining work restrictions).

The interactive process may vary depending on what the employee needs. The EEOC provides examples of some of the issues that may need to be explored:

• The specific accommodation(s) an employee requires;
• The reason an accommodation or work restriction is needed (that is, the limitations that prevent an employee from returning to work without reasonable accommodation);
• The length of time an employee will need the reasonable accommodation;
• Possible alternative accommodations that might effectively meet the employee’s disability-related needs; and
• Whether any of the accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

Response Provided by: Melanie Whetzel, Lead Consultant at Job Accommodation Network