Your Rights Under the Rehabilitation Act: Reasonable Accommodations in Federal Employment
You need something to change at work because of a medical condition, and you’re not sure if asking will help you or hurt you.
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act settles that question. It requires every federal agency to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee with a disability, and it protects you from retaliation for asking.
Christopher Jones leads the federal employment team at Capovilla & Williams and handles exactly this kind of case. He has spent 20 years practicing military and employment law. His experience includes overseeing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations and cases for the Air Force, U.S. Central Command, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Capovilla & Williams represents federal employees across the country. If your agency stalled, said no to, or never answered your request for reasonable accommodations, we can help you decide what to do next.
Key Takeaways
- The Rehabilitation Act requires reasonable accommodation. It doesn’t just encourage it.
- You have only 45 days to contact an EEO counselor once a discriminatory event happens, whether that’s a denial or a delay of your reasonable accommodation request.
- No special form or legal language is required to start the process.
- Your agency must engage in a genuine back and forth, not a blanket no. We call this the interactive process.
- Reassignment to a vacant position that can accommodate you is often required before your agency can remove you.
A reasonable accommodation attorney at Capovilla & Williams can look at what your agency has done so far and tell you, plainly, whether it measures up. Contact our team for a free, confidential review.
What the Rehabilitation Act Requires
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t cover federal employees. Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 does, and it borrows the same standards. Under the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) guidance on providing accommodations, a reasonable accommodation is any change to the job, the workplace, or how the work gets done that lets a qualified employee with a disability perform the essential functions of the position. That can mean a modified schedule, assistive software, a different chair, or, in the right circumstances, a hybrid or full-time telework.
How to Request a Reasonable Accommodation
You don’t need to say the words reasonable accommodation, cite the Rehabilitation Act, or fill out a specific form to start this process. However, if you are seeking an accommodation, you should:
- Tell your supervisor, your second-level manager, or your agency’s Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator that you need a change because of a medical condition.
- Describe the limitation and symptoms, not necessarily the diagnosis, and explain how it affects your work.
- Provide medical documentation if your agency asks, usually within a window of 15 to 30 days.
- Keep a written record of every request, every conversation, and every date, even if you asked out loud.
The OPM reasonable accommodation resource page walks through the same steps and provides additional resources about different types of reasonable accommodations.
What Counts as a Qualifying Disability
A qualifying disability under the Rehabilitation Act is broader than most employees expect. It covers physical and mental impairments that substantially limit a major life activity, and Congress instructed agencies to interpret that standard generously.
Physical and Sensory Conditions
Chronic pain, mobility limitations, hearing loss, vision impairment, and conditions like diabetes or epilepsy typically qualify, even when they’re well managed with medication or equipment.
Mental Health and Chronic Illness
Depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and autoimmune conditions qualify just as often, though these requests tend to draw more scrutiny from supervisors unfamiliar with how the conditions show up at work.
The EEOC’s guidance on medical inquiries and telework covers several real cases where agencies got this wrong, including one where a supervisor decided on his own that a migraine and fibromyalgia diagnosis wasn’t “valid.”
If your supervisor keeps saying they’re still looking into it, that isn’t the same as engaging in the process. Reach out to our federal employment team about what your agency should do next.
The Interactive Process: What Your Agency Owes You
Once you ask, your agency owes you an interactive process (see Executive Order 13164for additional detail about reasonable accommodation processes). That means a genuine back-and-forth aimed at finding a workable solution. Your supervisor can’t deny your first suggestion and stop there. The agency must explore alternatives to find a solution that meets the Agency’s needs and your medical limitations if possible. Agencies are also expected to follow their own written accommodation procedures, which every federal agency is required to keep on file.
The 45-Day Clock That Starts Before Any Denial
Some employees wait for a formal denial letter before they act. However, the 45-day window to contact an EEO counselor can start the moment a reasonably prudent person would believe the agency is refusing to accommodate, even if a denial letter never came. Silence and delay trigger the same clock, and waiting too long can cause you to miss the deadline.
Common Reasons Agencies Deny These Requests
Agencies lean on a short list of justifications, and most of them don’t hold up on review. Some reasons given for denying reasonable accommodation requests include:
- Undue hardship, meaning the accommodation would cause significant difficulty or expense given the agency’s size and resources
- A claim that the employee isn’t “qualified,” even when the only barrier is the accommodation itself
- A belief that the requested change would eliminate an essential function of the job, rather than adjust how that function gets performed
Remember: an agency has to prove its claim with specifics, not just assert it.
What to Do If You’re Denied, Delayed, or Ignored
A denial is not the end of the process, and neither is silence. You may:
Ask for Reconsideration
Most agencies let you ask the deciding official to reconsider within about 7 days of the decision. This step doesn’t pause your EEO deadline, so you can pursue both at once.
Contact Your Agency’s EEO Office
You have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor, and that window can already be running even without a written denial. From there, you generally have 15 days to file a formal complaint once the counselor issues your notice of right to file.
Consider a Merit Systems Protection Board Appeal If You Face Discipline
If your agency disciplines or removes you after denying your accommodation, you may have a separate right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and that appeal carries its own strict deadline.
Capovilla & Williams represents federal employees, not state, county, or local workers. A reasonable accommodation attorney on our team can review your paperwork, calculate your deadlines, and, if appropriate, file your complaint or appeal before your window closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies as a disability under the Rehabilitation Act?
It’s any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, like walking, concentrating, or breathing. The EEOC has found conditions ranging from migraines to fibromyalgia to PTSD qualify under the Rehabilitation Act. Your diagnosis matters less than the impact your physical or mental condition has on your life. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for reasonable accommodations because of your disability, that’s a question worth asking a federal employment attorney.
Do I need a doctor’s note to request an accommodation?
Not to start the conversation, but your agency can ask for medical documentation once you’ve made the request. You’ll usually get 15 to 30 days to provide it. Ask your doctor to describe how your condition limits a major life activity and how the accommodation you are requesting would help you meet the essential functions of your job, rather than just provide a diagnosis.
Can I be fired for asking for reasonable accommodations?
No, and retaliation for requesting an accommodation is its own separate violation under the Rehabilitation Act. That said, agencies sometimes retaliate quietly, through a bad performance review or a sudden schedule change. Document anything that shifts after you ask.
How long does my agency have to make a decision?
There’s no single hard deadline in the law itself, but most agencies’ own procedures target 20 to 30 business days.
Is telework considered a reasonable accommodation?
Yes, and the EEOC has ruled against agencies that denied telework requests without a basis. Your agency has to show the arrangement would create an undue hardship or that an alternate accommodation will be effective, not just prefer that you come into the office.
Capovilla & Williams: Federal Employment Law Firm
Asking for help at work when your body or your mind isn’t cooperating is hard enough without wondering if the request itself puts your job at risk. It doesn’t- not under the law, and the agencies that make it feel that way may be the ones skipping steps they’re required to take. We’ve watched the interactive process get rushed, ignored, or quietly slow-walked past a deadline nobody told the employee about. Untangling that timeline can be the difference between winning and losing. Vincit qui patitur, our attorneys like to say, “he who endures wins,” and endurance goes further with someone helping you. Contact our firm today, and let’s look at where things stand for you.
