Silence Is Not an Answer: What Happens When Your Employer Ignores Your Accommodation Request
Requesting a workplace accommodation for a disability can already feel uncomfortable. It becomes far more frustrating when that request seems to disappear into a void, met with no follow-up, no discussion, and no decision at all. Under federal disability law, an employer cannot simply ignore an accommodation request or sit on it indefinitely. There is a legal obligation to engage with the employee and work toward a solution, and a failure to do so can itself become the basis of a claim.
The Legal Duty to Engage, Not Just Respond
Once an employee tells an employer about a disability and asks for a change to help them do their job, federal regulations describe what should happen next: the employer may need to start an informal, interactive process with the employee to pin down the specific limitations involved and figure out what accommodation could reasonably address them. This is not a courtesy. It is a recognized step under the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act, and courts have repeatedly found employers liable for failing to meaningfully participate in it.
What an Interactive Process Failure Can Look Like
Employers do not always refuse accommodation requests outright. More often, the process simply stalls. Common signs that an employer has failed to engage appropriately include:
- Never responding to a written or verbal accommodation request
- Requesting medical documentation and then going silent after it is provided
- Repeatedly rescheduling or canceling discussions about the request
- Offering no explanation when a request is denied
- Failing to propose any alternative when the original request is not workable
Why This Failure Matters Legally
An employer is not necessarily required to grant the exact accommodation an employee asks for. There may be legitimate alternatives, or in some cases a genuine undue hardship defense. But an employer that never has the conversation at all removes its own ability to make that case. Courts have held that when an employer causes a breakdown in this process, whether through delay, disengagement, or outright refusal to discuss options, that breakdown can support a failure to accommodate claim, independent of whether a perfect accommodation ultimately existed.
Documenting a Stalled Accommodation Request
Employees who feel their request has gone nowhere should keep records of when the request was made, who it was sent to, and any responses or lack of response that followed. This kind of timeline often becomes central to proving that an employer, not the employee, is the reason no accommodation was ever reached.
Contact Our Team to Discuss Next Steps
If you asked your employer for a reasonable accommodation and were met with delay, silence, or a dismissive non-answer, you do not have to accept that as the end of the story. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens disability discrimination attorneys at Sconzo Law Office can review what happened, help you understand whether your employer met its legal obligations, and advise you on your options moving forward. Contact Sconzo Law Office today to talk about your accommodation request and what comes next.
Source:
eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-reasonable-accommodation-and-undue-hardship-under-ada