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Did employer try to ‘run out the clock’ on disabled staffer’s accommodation request?

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Supervisor’s take-home: Remember that you’re legally obligated to respond in a timely manner when a member of your crew requests a disability accommodation.

What happened: A woman who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder asked her employer to let her bring a service dog to work to help manage her condition. She provided documents from two doctors to justify her need for the accommodation.

What people did: Her employer said the woman needed to undergo an exam by an independent doctor to prove that the service dog would help her. The woman hired a lawyer, who reminded the organization that its insistence on an independent medical exam might amount to discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The employer responded by suggesting that the woman was failing to engage in the interactive process. Finally, six months after the female staffer first sought the accommodation, her request for the service dog was approved.

Legal challenge: The woman sued for disability discrimination, arguing that the six-month delay in approving her accommodation request constituted a failure to engage in the interactive process.

Result: The company lost. The court refused to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge said the employer didn’t engage in the interactive process in good faith. The organization’s insistence that the woman submit to an independent medical exam wasn’t reasonable. Plus, the company took six months to approve the woman’s accommodation request, and it did so only after she hired a lawyer.

The skinny: Judges are rarely impressed when employers try to “run out the clock” in an effort to discourage disabled employees from seeking reasonable accommodations.

Cite: Strife v. Aldine Independent School District, U.S. Court of Appeals 5, No. 24-20269, 5/16/25.

(From the July 11, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)