If an employee with a disability needs accommodation, what must they do first?

Disclosing the disability and its impact on job performance is the essential first step when an employee needs accommodation. This process allows the employer to understand the specific limitations or challenges the employee faces due to their disability. Only with this information can employers explore appropriate accommodations that would enable the employee to perform their job effectively.

Providing details about how the disability affects job performance helps facilitate a productive dialogue and can lead to more tailored solutions. Employers are generally required to engage in an interactive process with employees to assess their needs and explore reasonable accommodations, which can only happen once the disability and its implications are clearly communicated.

Other choices such as requesting to work from home, asking for additional training, or changing a job role might be potential solutions or accommodations but are not the initial steps in the process. These options require that the employer is first made aware of the specific disability and its impact to consider relevant accommodations. Without that disclosure, any request might not adequately address the underlying needs stemming from the disability.