ADA Accommodation Request Reviewer

The accommodation request that turns into a failure-to-accommodate claim is rarely the obviously hostile denial - it is the one a manager wants to wave off because "he can't do the job anymore," where a documented restriction collides with the job description and the instinct is to deny and put the worker on unpaid leave. The exposure lives one layer below the job description: the function in question is often marginal rather than essential, a reasonable accommodation (a lifting aid, a schedule change, modified equipment, or reassignment to a vacant role) is available at little cost, no undue-hardship or direct-threat analysis was actually run, and the interactive process was skipped entirely - so under the ADA, denying without engaging is itself the violation, no matter how reasonable the denial felt in the moment. A job description does not decide an accommodation; the essential functions, the available alternatives, and a good-faith interactive process do. This assistant reviews each request against the essential-functions analysis, the accommodation options, and the undue-hardship and direct-threat standards, and returns an accommodation decision (grant as requested / engage interactive process - identify alternative / more information needed / deny with documented basis), a compliance risk level, the specific factors it flagged with the legal basis for each, a recommended action, and reviewer notes - turning a stack of looks-deniable requests into a consistent, documented check in seconds, while an HR, leave, or legal professional confirms every flag and owns the call. No request is granted or denied, no leave is imposed, and no employee status changes on the assistant's say-so.

Category: Human Resources

How it works

1. An HR business partner, leave administrator, or in-house counsel submits an accommodation request - the employee's role and its essential functions, the documented limitation or medical restriction, the accommodation requested, what the job actually involves day to day, what (if anything) has been tried, the cost and operational impact, and the framework that applies (ADA Title I interactive process, undue hardship, direct threat).
2. The assistant reviews the request against the analysis, not the job-description label: whether the function at issue is essential or marginal, whether a reasonable accommodation (modified equipment, schedule change, reassignment of a marginal task, transfer to a vacant role, or leave as accommodation) is available, whether undue hardship or a direct threat is actually established with evidence, and whether the employer has engaged in a good-faith interactive process rather than denying on the strength of the job description.
3. It returns an accommodation decision (grant as requested / engage interactive process - identify alternative / more information needed / deny with documented basis), a compliance risk level, the specific factors flagged with the legal basis for each, a recommended action - grant, open the interactive process, request limited medical clarification, or document an undue-hardship/direct-threat denial - and reviewer notes.
4. It hands the reviewed request and its reasoning to an HR, leave, or legal professional to confirm the flags and decide - no request is granted or denied, no leave is imposed, and no status is changed automatically, and a person owns every accommodation decision.

Key benefits

• Apply one standard to every request - each accommodation is checked against the same essential-functions, reasonable-alternative, and undue-hardship analysis the moment it arrives, replacing the deny-it-if-the-job-description-says-so habit that turns a routine restriction into a failure-to-accommodate claim
• Catch the denial that should have been an interactive process - a request a manager wants to wave off because the worker "can't do the job" is surfaced as engage-and-find-an-alternative when the function is marginal, a low-cost accommodation exists, and no undue hardship was ever established, because the ADA requires the conversation before the no
• See exactly why each factor was flagged - the essential-vs-marginal call, the available accommodation, and the undue-hardship or direct-threat basis are spelled out with the ADA standard and a recommended action, so a grant, an interactive-process step, or a documented denial is defensible if the request is later challenged or the employee files a charge
• Move the clear ones fast - simple, low-cost, no-disruption requests are marked grant-as-requested with a documented rationale, so reviewer attention goes to the requests that actually carry interactive-process, reassignment, and undue-hardship exposure

Use cases

• HR and people-ops teams running a documented, consistent review on every reasonable-accommodation request before granting, denying, or opening the interactive process
• Leave and disability-management teams confirming a reasonable alternative or undue-hardship basis before denying a request or moving an employee to unpaid leave
• In-house and employment counsel reviewing accommodation files for interactive-process and direct-threat exposure ahead of a charge, a complaint, or litigation
• Operations and frontline managers handling restrictions on physical roles who need a consistent essential-vs-marginal-function check before they act on a job description

Good to know

No external connection - the request details, restrictions, and job facts you paste or upload stay in your workspace. The assistant checks each request only against the information you provide - the essential-functions analysis, the available accommodations, and the undue-hardship and direct-threat standards under the ADA - and it flags and recommends, it does not decide. It does not connect to your HRIS, leave system, or case file, change anyone's status, impose leave, or grant or deny anything. Crucially, this is a review aid, not a substitute for a qualified employment-law or leave professional, the controlling federal and state disability laws, or your own legal review: it works only from the facts you provide and escalates anything that needs a human call, but a qualified reviewer must apply the full picture and own every accommodation decision - it never grants, denies, imposes leave, or changes an employee's status on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Does this assistant automatically grant or deny accommodation requests?

No, it never grants or denies anything. It reviews the request against ADA standards and returns a recommended decision with flagged risks, but a human HR, leave, or legal professional must confirm and own every accommodation decision.

What information do I need to provide for the review?

You need to paste or upload the employee's role and essential functions, the documented limitation or restriction, the accommodation requested, what the job actually involves day to day, what has been tried, and the cost and operational impact.

Does this tool connect to my HRIS or leave system?

No, it has no external connections. All request details and job facts you provide stay in your workspace, and it does not connect to your HRIS, leave system, or case files.

How does it handle requests where a manager wants to deny because the employee 'can't do the job anymore'?

It flags whether the function at issue is essential or marginal and whether a reasonable accommodation exists. If the function is marginal or a low-cost accommodation is available, it recommends engaging the interactive process instead of denying, because skipping that conversation is itself a violation under the ADA.

Is this a substitute for a lawyer or legal review?

No, it is a review aid only. It works from the facts you provide and flags risks, but a qualified employment-law or leave professional must apply the full legal picture and own every decision.