Feds Only Reasonable Accomodations

[Anonymous]

My wife is a supervisor at HHS. Seven of her eight employees have put in for RA. There is such a backlog that it's taking months to review them all - and while they are pending the employees can continue to work remotely. So she's in the office with one employee while everybody else teleworks.

[Anonymous]

People need to grow up and live near work. My town I grew up in was built at time when workers could not afford either a horse or a car.

Houses were on tiny tiny plots on top of each other to be walking distance from train stations or were near their job.

They had to live walking distance from work or walking distance train.

Pretty sure life was like that for thousands of years. It is not practical to live far from work in a full time in person job with long hours.

My hours were 8 am to 6pm every day for around 20 years. I lived in a small tiny old house that was a fixer upper close in over a big house in suburbs.

My house was 1,300 sf for a family of five with a single parking spot in driveway.

Yes I could afford a big fancy house with a pool and two car garage another 30 miles out. But that is not my bosses problem.

The answer to long commutes is the MOVE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to grow up and live near work. My town I grew up in was built at time when workers could not afford either a horse or a car.

Houses were on tiny tiny plots on top of each other to be walking distance from train stations or were near their job.

They had to live walking distance from work or walking distance train.

Pretty sure life was like that for thousands of years. It is not practical to live far from work in a full time in person job with long hours.

My hours were 8 am to 6pm every day for around 20 years. I lived in a small tiny old house that was a fixer upper close in over a big house in suburbs.

My house was 1,300 sf for a family of five with a single parking spot in driveway.

Yes I could afford a big fancy house with a pool and two car garage another 30 miles out. But that is not my bosses problem.

The answer to long commutes is the MOVE

Oh give it a rest, old hag! Earth to PP, the 21st century is calling and we are supposedly a technological behemoth here in the USA. “Back in the day” there was no broadband. Shocker for you, bye federal remote work and telework have been a thing for 15+ years. I’ve been at my agency for almost 20 years and had some form of remote work the ENTIRE TIME - gasp - even when internet was snail pace and I had a dial up modem! Yes, even before we had our snazzy work-issued laptops to make it even more seamless.

For most government desk jobs there is literally NO reason to be in person 5x a week, if at all. My staff worked full time remote for 7 years without issue. No problems whatsoever. Productivity was fine. Better, actually! People were happy! Morale was much higher! Commitment was much higher.

So yes, logically, people moved out. Why blow $1.3M on a home inside the beltway - on a fed salary(?)- when you can move out to Leesburg and take VRE 1-2x a week or Odenton and take MARK 1-2x a week.

Where in the DC area is such a community you speak of? There is NO little village of close homes where we can walk to work. This doesn’t exist here. There are $1.2 million condos downtown and $1.4 million tiny single family homes in Del Ray and MoCO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My RA was rejected and I’ve had it in place for a few years now. My disability status hasn’t changed and the accommodation requested was the same (telework). I got additional documentation from a health care provider and my agency still rejected it. I have no idea what to do but the proper ADA process isn’t being followed. Is this the norm across agencies? Also, all letters and emails are being signed anonymously, so I don’t know who is reviewing my medical records or who to talk to. There’s no negotiating and no required process. I have been reporting in and my issue is being significantly exacerbated. I seriously want to end it all. I can’t afford an attorney and am a single mom, so this is just horrible.

I think the fact that you’ve been reporting in, presumably in-person, isn’t good for your RA request, despite it significantly affecting you. IMO, you probably should have used sick leave until it was approved.

What’s she supposed to do? Take leave indefinitely “until it is approved”??? It may never be approved! Especially if agencies aren’t following ADA requirements. I don’t see how an agency can reneg on an existing reasonable accommodation when circumstances didn’t change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People need to grow up and live near work. My town I grew up in was built at time when workers could not afford either a horse or a car.

Houses were on tiny tiny plots on top of each other to be walking distance from train stations or were near their job.

They had to live walking distance from work or walking distance train.

Pretty sure life was like that for thousands of years. It is not practical to live far from work in a full time in person job with long hours.

My hours were 8 am to 6pm every day for around 20 years. I lived in a small tiny old house that was a fixer upper close in over a big house in suburbs.

My house was 1,300 sf for a family of five with a single parking spot in driveway.

Yes I could afford a big fancy house with a pool and two car garage another 30 miles out. But that is not my bosses problem.

The answer to long commutes is the MOVE

Troll! I bet you has to talk three miles in the snow to school every day too… barefoot! lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still waiting on mine. Multiple mental heath conditions that require sleep hygiene and medications not compatible with daily 4 hours spent commuting.

Commuting is not an ADA issue. You are not entitled to accommodations to avoid the commute regardless of the condition.

Are you an attorney?

Some of these commutes are 2 hours long. Many middle aged and older women suffer from degrees of incontinence. They would have to stop at a bathroom, making their commute even longer. I would argue that the commute itself absolutely is an issue for these people and that remote work is a reasonable accommodation.

Urogynecologist surgical staffer here. Unless you live in Palm Springs and are commuting to Vegas across the desert, there will be a bathroom along the commute. It’s fine to stop along the way.

Alternatives include Depends/Thinx and / or wicking pads.

Cmon. You’re already wearing the absorbent pads and briefs in your home office, admit this. Just change when you arrive at work. Bring a disposable wipe.

My employer would never agree to sign a letter with her name and NPI stating someone with your diagnosis can’t drive.

Genuine question - for many feds there is no parking option, so my commute via transit is one hour door to door. What about fecal incontinence? Also changing diaper etc is very embarrassing and time consuming in a public restroom.

People seem to be unaware that affirming dignity is part of the ADA. Requiring a commute when work can be performed equally from a home office creates unnecessary hurdles for someone with a disability.

While affirming dignity under the ADA may have been true in previous/normal times, the new administration wants everyone and anyone out at any cost. Even better to boot you if you have a disability because that makes you DEI. They are not following the legally required ADA process or “interactive process.” Their approach is to reject and make you appeal and then hire an attorney at your own expense to sue. They are not following disability law. They are not doing the right or moral thing. I don’t know anyone who has had a reasonable accommodation request granted. They have all been rejected or granted without true accommodation. For example, an employee who has been teleworking full time for years for medical reasons is now being “accommodated” by full time in office but with permission to telework on days they have a medical appointment. That isn’t an accommodation when it’s agency policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My RA was rejected and I’ve had it in place for a few years now. My disability status hasn’t changed and the accommodation requested was the same (telework). I got additional documentation from a health care provider and my agency still rejected it. I have no idea what to do but the proper ADA process isn’t being followed. Is this the norm across agencies? Also, all letters and emails are being signed anonymously, so I don’t know who is reviewing my medical records or who to talk to. There’s no negotiating and no required process. I have been reporting in and my issue is being significantly exacerbated. I seriously want to end it all. I can’t afford an attorney and am a single mom, so this is just horrible.

I think the fact that you’ve been reporting in, presumably in-person, isn’t good for your RA request, despite it significantly affecting you. IMO, you probably should have used sick leave until it was approved.

What’s she supposed to do? Take leave indefinitely “until it is approved”??? It may never be approved! Especially if agencies aren’t following ADA requirements. I don’t see how an agency can reneg on an existing reasonable accommodation when circumstances didn’t change.

She said it was denied, but can she immediately appeal and open up a new case and ask for names and titles for the process otherwise she cannot consider the results valid? And then while it's "pending" do what everyone else is doing and continue to work remotely? I mean it's really a Trump tactic of dragging everything out, so why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still waiting on mine. Multiple mental heath conditions that require sleep hygiene and medications not compatible with daily 4 hours spent commuting.

Commuting is not an ADA issue. You are not entitled to accommodations to avoid the commute regardless of the condition.

Are you an attorney?

Some of these commutes are 2 hours long. Many middle aged and older women suffer from degrees of incontinence. They would have to stop at a bathroom, making their commute even longer. I would argue that the commute itself absolutely is an issue for these people and that remote work is a reasonable accommodation.

Urogynecologist surgical staffer here. Unless you live in Palm Springs and are commuting to Vegas across the desert, there will be a bathroom along the commute. It’s fine to stop along the way.

Alternatives include Depends/Thinx and / or wicking pads.

Cmon. You’re already wearing the absorbent pads and briefs in your home office, admit this. Just change when you arrive at work. Bring a disposable wipe.

My employer would never agree to sign a letter with her name and NPI stating someone with your diagnosis can’t drive.

Genuine question - for many feds there is no parking option, so my commute via transit is one hour door to door. What about fecal incontinence? Also changing diaper etc is very embarrassing and time consuming in a public restroom.

People seem to be unaware that affirming dignity is part of the ADA. Requiring a commute when work can be performed equally from a home office creates unnecessary hurdles for someone with a disability.

While affirming dignity under the ADA may have been true in previous/normal times, the new administration wants everyone and anyone out at any cost. Even better to boot you if you have a disability because that makes you DEI. They are not following the legally required ADA process or “interactive process.” Their approach is to reject and make you appeal and then hire an attorney at your own expense to sue. They are not following disability law. They are not doing the right or moral thing. I don’t know anyone who has had a reasonable accommodation request granted. They have all been rejected or granted without true accommodation. For example, an employee who has been teleworking full time for years for medical reasons is now being “accommodated” by full time in office but with permission to telework on days they have a medical appointment. That isn’t an accommodation when it’s agency policy.

People are not “DEI” merely by having a disability or being anything except an adult under 45 cis het white Christian male with no disabilities or serious health problems. The actual % of Americans who are all of those things is fairly small. Does MAGA only want those people to work? Ridiculous. If you called me DEI I would be pissed at you because I never could fully get on the DEI bandwagon because they did not allow one iota of diversity of thought.

The bigger issue is that this administration does not want government efficiency, they just people to quit and for the agencies to disappear.

Disability accommodations and workplace flexibilities allow for increased workforce participation and being able to bring on and keep talented employees who might otherwise not be able to access a workplace. It is not a new concept and we need to separate it from DEI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My RA was rejected and I’ve had it in place for a few years now. My disability status hasn’t changed and the accommodation requested was the same (telework). I got additional documentation from a health care provider and my agency still rejected it. I have no idea what to do but the proper ADA process isn’t being followed. Is this the norm across agencies? Also, all letters and emails are being signed anonymously, so I don’t know who is reviewing my medical records or who to talk to. There’s no negotiating and no required process. I have been reporting in and my issue is being significantly exacerbated. I seriously want to end it all. I can’t afford an attorney and am a single mom, so this is just horrible.

I think the fact that you’ve been reporting in, presumably in-person, isn’t good for your RA request, despite it significantly affecting you. IMO, you probably should have used sick leave until it was approved.

What’s she supposed to do? Take leave indefinitely “until it is approved”??? It may never be approved! Especially if agencies aren’t following ADA requirements. I don’t see how an agency can reneg on an existing reasonable accommodation when circumstances didn’t change.

She said it was denied, but can she immediately appeal and open up a new case and ask for names and titles for the process otherwise she cannot consider the results valid? And then while it's "pending" do what everyone else is doing and continue to work remotely? I mean it's really a Trump tactic of dragging everything out, so why not.

NP. Following with interest bc my situation is nearly identical to the one above. I have had a RA since covid. My disability hasn’t changed, my RA hasn’t changed, and I have been FT telework since 2020. My RA this time in 2025 was rejected with no explanation or discussion. They said their “effective reasonable accommodation” was to report in 5x a week with exceptions for the days I have medical exams. This isn’t an accommodation at all and everyone at my office has this arrangement. I appealed through the process, submitted new medical info, but almost immediately was rejected again. Now what? I have been taking annual and sick leave for the past two weeks while I try to navigate this, but I don’t have unlimited leave. Do I just keep filing new requests for RA? Do I appeal to the EEOC? Does an EEOC even exist or is it just more puppets?

I’m so deflated and this stress is causing my issue to become much worse. My doctors have said full time in person is not an effective accommodation but my agency leadership doesn’t seem to GAF.

I can’t be the only one experiencing this? What are other persons with disabilities doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My RA was rejected and I’ve had it in place for a few years now. My disability status hasn’t changed and the accommodation requested was the same (telework). I got additional documentation from a health care provider and my agency still rejected it. I have no idea what to do but the proper ADA process isn’t being followed. Is this the norm across agencies? Also, all letters and emails are being signed anonymously, so I don’t know who is reviewing my medical records or who to talk to. There’s no negotiating and no required process. I have been reporting in and my issue is being significantly exacerbated. I seriously want to end it all. I can’t afford an attorney and am a single mom, so this is just horrible.

I think the fact that you’ve been reporting in, presumably in-person, isn’t good for your RA request, despite it significantly affecting you. IMO, you probably should have used sick leave until it was approved.

What’s she supposed to do? Take leave indefinitely “until it is approved”??? It may never be approved! Especially if agencies aren’t following ADA requirements. I don’t see how an agency can reneg on an existing reasonable accommodation when circumstances didn’t change.

She said it was denied, but can she immediately appeal and open up a new case and ask for names and titles for the process otherwise she cannot consider the results valid? And then while it's "pending" do what everyone else is doing and continue to work remotely? I mean it's really a Trump tactic of dragging everything out, so why not.

This looks to be a sure fire way to get RIFFED bad advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to grow up and live near work. My town I grew up in was built at time when workers could not afford either a horse or a car.

Houses were on tiny tiny plots on top of each other to be walking distance from train stations or were near their job.

They had to live walking distance from work or walking distance train.

Pretty sure life was like that for thousands of years. It is not practical to live far from work in a full time in person job with long hours.

My hours were 8 am to 6pm every day for around 20 years. I lived in a small tiny old house that was a fixer upper close in over a big house in suburbs.

My house was 1,300 sf for a family of five with a single parking spot in driveway.

Yes I could afford a big fancy house with a pool and two car garage another 30 miles out. But that is not my bosses problem.

The answer to long commutes is the MOVE

Troll! I bet you has to talk three miles in the snow to school every day too… barefoot! lol.

Actually my Mom grew up in great depression one of 5 kids. She waked 4 miles to school each day barefoot carrying her school shoes Shoes for school was very expensive and they needed to be handed down. She put the shoes on when she got to school. And took them off at the end of school. Her formal education ended at 12 years of age and she got a full time job. We are only one generation removed for many of us from actually workers. Not like today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to grow up and live near work. My town I grew up in was built at time when workers could not afford either a horse or a car.

Houses were on tiny tiny plots on top of each other to be walking distance from train stations or were near their job.

They had to live walking distance from work or walking distance train.

Pretty sure life was like that for thousands of years. It is not practical to live far from work in a full time in person job with long hours.

My hours were 8 am to 6pm every day for around 20 years. I lived in a small tiny old house that was a fixer upper close in over a big house in suburbs.

My house was 1,300 sf for a family of five with a single parking spot in driveway.

Yes I could afford a big fancy house with a pool and two car garage another 30 miles out. But that is not my bosses problem.

The answer to long commutes is the MOVE

Oh give it a rest, old hag! Earth to PP, the 21st century is calling and we are supposedly a technological behemoth here in the USA. “Back in the day” there was no broadband. Shocker for you, bye federal remote work and telework have been a thing for 15+ years. I’ve been at my agency for almost 20 years and had some form of remote work the ENTIRE TIME - gasp - even when internet was snail pace and I had a dial up modem! Yes, even before we had our snazzy work-issued laptops to make it even more seamless.

For most government desk jobs there is literally NO reason to be in person 5x a week, if at all. My staff worked full time remote for 7 years without issue. No problems whatsoever. Productivity was fine. Better, actually! People were happy! Morale was much higher! Commitment was much higher.

So yes, logically, people moved out. Why blow $1.3M on a home inside the beltway - on a fed salary(?)- when you can move out to Leesburg and take VRE 1-2x a week or Odenton and take MARK 1-2x a week.

Where in the DC area is such a community you speak of? There is NO little village of close homes where we can walk to work. This doesn’t exist here. There are $1.2 million condos downtown and $1.4 million tiny single family homes in Del Ray and MoCO.

Cheap DC homes exist in DC. Tons of them. My own kid fresh out of school has an in person job in DC. She found a rent controls apt which is very common, any building in DC built 1975 or older. No rules anyone can get one. Her building is really nice. Older building. Tons of families in building. You can get a nice two bedroom all redone for around $2,400 a month. You can stay there for life, can never kick you out and rent increases are small. There is your answer.

The answer is rent. In New York City for instance, a significant majority of households are renters. Specifically, approximately two-thirds (66.7%) of New York City households were renters in 2021. They cant afford to buy close in to work so they rent.

My company we have an insane amount of people in last five years moved to Woodbridge VA to get a big house cheap or way down 66 past Haymarket and even a few people by Chespeake Bay cause we were fully remote Right now we are only back two days a week. I noticed the staff who live in boomdocks are now taking vacation days a lot on their two in person days to cut down on commute.

But that is not a god given right.

[Anonymous]

PP sorry but that’s BS. The majority of federal workers shouldn’t have to move their families to rent controlled apartments in high crime areas of DC. What you’re proposing isn’t just unrealistic, but is dumb when we have the technology to telework seamlessly. This isn’t the 1930s anymore. Progress happens. It’s a thing. If we can replace people with AI and machine learning then we can allow people who have disabilities to telework.

[Anonymous]

A coworker teleworks full-time because she's apparently allergic to the office. Hers was approved within about a week of RTO this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife is a supervisor at HHS. Seven of her eight employees have put in for RA. There is such a backlog that it's taking months to review them all - and while they are pending the employees can continue to work remotely. So she's in the office with one employee while everybody else teleworks.

My agency RTO beginning of April. Half of the offices and cubicles are dark all the time. Heard most of them put in RA requests and they can continue to work from home until a decision is made.

If so many feds are under (fake) RA, why not let everyone telework?