ADA Leave As a Reasonable Accomodation

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), employers over a certain size are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities as long as the accommodation doesn’t constitute an undue hardship on the employer. (42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A)(2026).) Many people may be familiar with (or perhaps requested themselves) some common accommodations like an ergonomic keyboard or adjustable sit-stand desk.

But fewer are aware that the ADA allows you to take a leave of absence from work as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. If you have a chronic medical condition that is interfering with your attendance or productivity on the job, it’s important to know how you can benefit from ADA protections—including taking time off work to attend to your health needs.

What Is ADA Leave?

ADA leave is available to employees who have a disability—meaning a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity—and who work for a covered employer (generally one that has at least 15 employees). It’s a type of reasonable accommodation that employers must provide to disabled employees. Reasonable accommodations are changes to your workplace that allow you to perform the essential functions of your job despite your disability. While they can overlap at times, ADA leave isn’t the same as federal FMLA leave or other state medical leave of absence programs.

When Is ADA Leave a Work Accommodation?

Since the ADA prohibits discrimination against employees with disabilities, your employer must treat you the same as other employees, including when it comes to benefits and time off work. That means your employer can’t deny your request for sick leave while routinely granting those from other employees, for instance.

But the ADA’s requirement to provide reasonable accommodations is a different type of legal obligation. So rather than treating you the same as employees who don't have disabilities, your employer might have to treat you differently in order to accommodate your disability.

For example, if new employees aren’t allowed to take leave until they’ve worked for the company for at least six months, your employer might need to depart from this rule if you need leave for a disability. Your employer can’t simply point to its usual rule or policy and say, "We don't allow anyone to take time off during the first six months, so you can't take time off either."

Instead, your employer must give you time off as a reasonable accommodation, despite its usual rule, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. Undue hardship is defined as causing “significant difficulty or expense” for the employer. (42 U.S.C. § 12111(10)(A) (2026).)

How to Request ADA Leave

If you need to take a leave of absence from work due to your disability, you must request it. And although it’s not required, it's best to make your request in writing, so you have a record of the date and details. Let your employer know that you have a disability for which you need time off as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Explain why you need time off, how much time you need, and when you’ll be able to return to work. You might also attach a note from your doctor, explaining your need to take leave.

Once you make your request for reasonable accommodation, your employer must start a dialogue with you to figure out how to accommodate your disability. You aren’t necessarily entitled to the exact time off that you request, as long as your employer provides an alternate accommodation that works. The ADA requires that you and your employer engage in a good faith, flexible process to arrive at a solution that upholds your right to an accommodation and doesn’t impose undue hardship on your employer. Here’s an example:

During your leave, your employer can check in with you, as long as you’re not being harassed. For example, if you take eight weeks off for cancer treatment, your employer can check in after a few weeks to ask how you’re doing. Your employer could check in again as your leave comes to a close to find out whether and when you’ll be able to return to work (and whether you’ll need any accommodations when you come back).

When Is Leave Considered an Undue Hardship?

Undue hardship typically means that the accommodation would be too costly or disruptive for your employer to implement. When deciding whether your ADA leave would constitute an undue hardship, your employer (and the courts) will look at the following factors:

• the nature and cost of the accommodation (like hiring a temporary worker or paying overtime to cover your shifts)
• the size and financial resources of the company (large corporations generally have more funds and flexibility to provide accommodation than a small company might)
• the type of operation the business is (including its structure and the function of the workplace), and
• the impact the accommodation will have on the operation of the facility (including how the accommodation affects other employees' abilities to do their jobs).

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces ADA provisions, in order to determine whether an accommodation creates an undue hardship, your employer must look at how your absence will affect the company’s ability to function. The ADA doesn’t require your employer to disrupt the essential operations of the business to accommodate your request for leave. (29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(p)(2026).)

Let’s say you’re the only person who performs a vital company function, and your disability sometimes requires you to be absent from work without any notice. Your employer might find that giving you time off under these conditions might create an undue hardship. But if you’re one of many employees who perform the same functions—for example, in a call center or on a manufacturing line—and others can easily fill in for you when you must be absent, giving you time off is unlikely to create an undue hardship. Your request for time off as accommodation would be reasonable.

Similarly, let’s say your company routinely grants requests for unpaid leave for employees to take trips or further their education. Your employer would be hard-pressed to show that granting you the same amount of leave for your disability is an undue hardship, unless your absence would be uniquely disruptive.

How Long Can You Be On ADA Leave?

While there is no statutory maximum amount of time off you can take, the ADA doesn’t require your employer to give you an indefinite period of leave. So if you and your doctor can't say when or whether you'll be able to return to work, your employer can deny your request for open-ended leave as an undue hardship. (Courts have weighed in on how much time off can be considered an undue hardship, ranging from several weeks to multiple months, but it varies significantly by jurisdiction.)

If you need more leave than you originally thought—for example, you had complications from surgery or your physical therapy is progressing more slowly than your doctor predicted—ask your doctor to help you come up with a new timeframe for returning to work, and let your employer know as soon as possible that you’ll need more leave.

What If You Need Accommodations to Return to Work?

When you’re ready to return to work, you might need additional accommodations. For example, you might have lifting restrictions following back surgery, limited mobility after suffering a major injury, or fatigue after cancer treatment. As soon as you know that you might need accommodations to return to work, let your employer know. Your employer might need documentation and more information about your restrictions.

The same rules that apply to time off as a reasonable accommodation apply to other accommodations. Your employer must work with you to come up with effective reasonable accommodations that will allow you to do your job and won't create an undue hardship for the company. Flexible schedules are often used to help employees ease back into the workplace following an extended medical leave.

What If My Employer Won't Cooperate With My Accommodation Request?

The ADA requires that your employer must try to work with you to accommodate your disability. If your employer denied your request for leave, refused to discuss possible alternatives to your request for time off, or didn’t allow you to return to work, you should consult an employment attorney to determine whether your employer violated your ADA rights and help you decide what to do about it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About ADA Leave

Below are several frequently asked questions (FAQs) about taking time off under the ADA.

How Long Does an Employer Have to Accommodate a Disability?

Employers must accommodate a disabled employee for as long as the accommodation doesn’t pose an undue hardship and the employee remains disabled. ADA leave may become an undue hardship after several months, but there’s no fixed limit.

Do You Get Paid on ADA Leave?

The ADA doesn’t require an employer to provide paid leave beyond what it provides as part of its paid leave policy. For example, if an employee has accrued 10 days of paid sick leave and requests 15 days of time off as a reasonable accommodation to recover from surgery, the employer can provide the employee with 10 paid leave days and 5 unpaid days for a total of 15.

Can An Employer Take Away a Reasonable Accommodation?

Yes, but only in limited circumstances. If the circumstances have changed to the point that the accommodation now poses an undue hardship, the accommodated employee’s essential job functions have changed, the accommodation is no longer effective, or the employee doesn’t need the accommodation anymore, the employer can take the accommodation away.