From Here to Eternity: Managing Extended Leaves, Disability Accommodations and WFH Requests

Ask any HR leader, manager or executive : When it comes to people policies and management, what is your biggest pain point? In the leave/disability world, it is always extended or open-ended leaves and work from home requests. There is no straightforward process or answer. We always must invent and reinvent ways to improve information from healthcare providers to make accommodation decisions. While the pandemic may have reduced the number of leave requests employers were receiving, reports suggest that requests for leaves of absence and work from home as accommodations are once again on the rise. This is hardly surprising as employers push for more in-office presence, and mental health concerns have become more prevalent in the workplace. Equally unsurprising is that extended leaves and work from home agreements often cause the most confusion and frustration for the business – Why does the leave/accommodation keep getting extended? Can we fill the person’s role? Can we require them to come back to the office? How much leave time is reasonable? Will this process ever end?

This session will provide a framework for meeting your obligations to engage in the interactive process and provide reasonable accommodations while also evaluating whether an employee on an extended leave or work from home accommodation can remain qualified for their job. Asking early questions to assess whether the leave will actually assist the employee to return to performing their job, assessing how and when a leave or work from home policy has become open-ended, and managing the leave and work from home denial process to reduce risk to your organization are all important issues to consider.

Thank you to Littler for sponsoring this event!

Questions: Kathleen Smits at charlotteAED@accglobal.com

All registration links are located in our weekly email.