Step 1: Separate Essential Job Functions from Workplace Barriers
Before you write to HR or your manager, pull your written job description and divide what you do every week into two buckets: essential functions (the fundamental outcomes your position exists to deliver) and the workplace environment, schedule, or marginal tasks surrounding them.
Under federal ADA regulations (29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(n)) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Enforcement Guidance, an employer is not required to remove an essential job function or lower uniform production standards. However, an employer is required to consider reasonable adjustments to how, when, or with what equipment those essential functions are performed, and can reassign minor "marginal" tasks, unless doing so causes undue hardship.
- Weak framing: "Due to my medical condition, I cannot handle fast-paced client deliverables or morning meetings." (Sounds like you cannot perform the core job.)
- Strong framing: "I can complete all client deliverables and weekly reporting on schedule. Because of a morning medical treatment window, I am requesting a shifted 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM schedule and written agendas for early standups."
Step 2: Map Each Functional Limitation to Two Practical Adjustments
HR reviewers and managers approve requests fastest when they don't have to guess how the adjustment solves the problem. For each limitation, write down:
- The functional limitation: What physical, sensory, cognitive, or treatment-schedule restriction is happening (for example: no lifting over 20 lbs, limited continuous standing beyond 30 minutes, photophobia under fluorescent tubes, or twice-weekly infusion appointments).
- The workplace barrier: Which rule, workstation setup, or schedule requirement collides with that limitation.
- Option A (Primary proposed accommodation): Your preferred adjustment (ergonomic sit-stand desk, screen reader software, modified break schedule, hybrid remote days during recovery, or temporary reassignment of heavy lifting).
- Option B (Alternative or trial period): Because employers have discretion under EEOC Question 9 to choose among effective accommodations, offering a second workable option—or proposing a 60-day trial period with a scheduled review—shows good-faith flexibility from day one.
Step 3: Check Who Should Receive the Request
Check your employee handbook or intranet for a designated ADA / Leave & Accommodations contact in Human Resources. While telling a direct supervisor in plain English legally triggers the employer's duty under EEOC guidance, routing the written request directly to HR protects your medical privacy:
- Under 29 C.F.R. § 1630.14(c), medical information gathered during the accommodation process must be stored in a confidential medical file separate from your general personnel record.
- Your supervisor only needs to know the functional work restriction and the approved adjustment—not your diagnosis or clinical history.
Step 4: Scope Your Healthcare Provider's Documentation
When a disability or the need for an accommodation is not obvious, HR may ask for reasonable medical documentation. Do not hand over years of raw clinical visit notes or sign an unrestricted release for your entire medical chart. Instead, give your doctor or therapist a one-page summary of your job duties and ask their letter to cover five targeted points:
- Professional credentials: Confirmation that the clinician is treating you for a medical condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities or bodily functions.
- Specific functional limitation: Plain-English description of what the condition restricts (e.g., sustained keyboarding without voice dictation, prolonged standing, exposure to high-decibel noise).
- Job duty connection: Why that limitation affects a specific aspect of your current work environment or schedule.
- Recommended adjustment: Why the proposed accommodation (and any effective alternative) enables you to perform your essential job functions.
- Expected duration: Whether the accommodation is needed for a defined recovery window (e.g., 90 days through a specific date) or on an ongoing basis.
Step 5: Copy-Paste ADA Workplace Accommodation Request Template
Adapt this template with your own facts, or generate a tailored version with a provider checklist using our Free AI Workplace Accommodation Companion:
Workplace Accommodation Request Letter Template
To: [HR Accommodations Specialist Name / Human Resources Department]
From: [Your Full Name], [Your Job Title / Department]
Date: [Date]
Subject: Request for Workplace Accommodation — [Your Full Name]
Dear [HR Contact Name],
I am writing to request a reasonable workplace accommodation related to a medical condition so that I can continue performing all essential functions of my role as a [Your Job Title].
Functional Limitation & Workplace Barrier: I am currently being treated for a medical condition that limits [describe the functional limitation in plain terms, e.g., my ability to stand continuously for more than 30 minutes / working under overhead fluorescent lighting / commuting during my morning medical treatment window]. In my current setup, this creates a barrier when [describe the specific workplace rule or environment affected]. With the adjustment below, I am fully able to perform all core duties of my position, including [list 2–3 core job duties].
Proposed Accommodations:
1. Primary Option: [Describe Option A clearly, including schedule,
equipment, or workflow details].
2. Alternative Option: [Describe Option B, or propose a 60-to-90-day
trial period with a check-in on a specific date].
I expect to need this adjustment [through Date / for approximately X months / on an ongoing basis]. My treating healthcare provider can supply targeted documentation of my functional limitation and this recommendation if needed.
Please let me know the next steps in the interactive process and a convenient time this week to discuss this request. Thank you for your time and assistance.
Sincerely,
[Your Printed Name]
[Employee ID, if applicable]
[Email Address / Phone Number]
Step 6: Navigate the Interactive Meeting & Keep a Written Trail
After you submit your request, HR or your department lead should schedule an interactive process conversation. Treat that conversation as a collaborative problem-solving session, and keep a clean paper trail after every touchpoint:
- Send a same-day recap email after verbal meetings. If HR discusses an interim arrangement or asks for a targeted doctor's form on a phone call, send a polite four-line summary email the same afternoon: "Thank you for speaking with me today. To confirm my understanding, we agreed to test [Adjustment] for 30 days while I have my physician complete the functional capacity form by [Date]."
- Respond promptly to information requests. Under EEOC guidance, if an employee causes a breakdown in the interactive process by refusing to provide reasonable, scoped documentation when the need isn't obvious, the employer isn't liable for failing to accommodate.
- Track review and follow-up dates. If HR approves a temporary or trial accommodation, put a reminder on your calendar 10 business days before the trial expires to confirm in writing that the adjustment is working and ask to make it ongoing.
Related Guides
- How to Write an FMLA Request Letter — when you need job-protected continuous or intermittent medical leave alongside or before workplace adjustments.
- How to Organize a Paper Trail — how to log HR meetings, clinician notes, and follow-up dates in chronological order.
- How to Write a Medical Hardship Letter — when a health condition also creates medical billing or financial hardship.
- The ADA Interactive Process: What HR Can Ask For (and What It Can't) — deep breakdown of EEOC documentation rules and JAN employer cost data.
Workplace & Paperwork Tools
- AI Workplace Accommodation Companion — map job limitations, draft your ADA request letter, prepare a clinician documentation checklist, and track interactive process milestones.
- AI FMLA Request Letter Generator — check FMLA eligibility, calculate notice windows, and draft a formal medical leave notice.
- Paper Trail Timeline — build a dated, exportable log of every HR email, meeting, and medical form.