All day long you give me the runaround
When you say something here,
You mean something there
You give me the runaround
Same thing yesterday,
Same thing the day before from “Runaround” by Tulsa songwriter J. J. Cale
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employer should grant accommodations to employees with a disability, so long as the accommodations are reasonable and don’t impose an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. To fulfill this obligation and consider an individual’s request for accommodation, the employer must gather information and discuss potential accommodations that may address the employee’s disability-related needs. The ADA refers to this as the “interactive process.” The law doesn’t spell out any time frame within which employers must satisfy the interactive requirement. But what happens when an employer is slow to consider and decide an accommodation request?
Military Service and a Career in Education
Alisha Strife served in Kuwait and Iraq as a member of the U.S. Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. During her service, she injured her shoulder, leg, and brain, and she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After being medically discharged, she began working as an elementary school teacher. When her disabilities prevented her from continuing in that role, she transferred to a testing coordinator position and later was promoted to work in the school district’s HR department.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Strife’s medical conditions worsened, and alternative treatments weren’t successful. Eventually, she received a certified service dog named Inde, which helped her maintain balance, protected her from falling, and mitigated her PTSD symptoms.
Accommodation Request Drags On
On August 30, 2022, Strife submitted a request through the school district’s HR portal asking that she be permitted to bring Inde to work as an accommodation for her disabilities. At the school district’s request several weeks later, she provided her employer with a letter from her treating provider at the VA that confirmed the need for Inde’s presence at work for her “mental and physical health recovery.”
After the school district rejected the letter as insufficient because the VA’s treating provider wasn’t board-certified, Strife submitted yet another letter, this time from her treating psychiatrist, who also requested that Strife be permitted to bring her service dog to work. At the school district’s request, in November, the treating psychiatrist completed a questionnaire reiterating Strife’s need for her service dog.
Next, the school district informed Strife that she must be examined by a physician chosen by the employer who would review the medical information she had already submitted about her accommodation need. Attorneys for Strife and the employer argued about the necessity of an additional medical exam and report.
In January 2023, Strife was examined by VA physicians, and her attorney forwarded letters from the doctors, who reaffirmed that “Inde was required in all settings (including place of employment) to avoid further balance-related injuries.” When the school district questioned the value of those reports because they lacked the evaluating doctors’ notes, her attorney provided the examination notes to the employer.
At this point, several months had passed since Strife first requested her accommodation, and the school district still hadn’t decided whether to allow Inde to accompany her at work.
Shocker: Lawsuit Filed
Strife filed a lawsuit against her employer under the ADA and Texas law claiming, among other things, that the school district had violated its obligation to reasonably accommodate her request to bring her service dog to work. Within three weeks of the lawsuit’s filing, her employer began allowing Inde to come to work with her. Nevertheless, she continued to pursue her claims against the school, arguing that the six-month delay in granting her request amounted to a failure to accommodate her disability.
When considering an accommodation request, employers may seek an independent medical examination when an employee hasn’t provided sufficient information to establish a disability and the need for an accommodation. In this case, Strife stressed the extensive medical information she had already provided to the school district in support of her request to bring her service dog to work.
Based on the employer’s delay and its actions during the interactive process, now a jury will decide whether the school district’s behavior demonstrated a lack of good faith and a failure to accommodate her disabilities. Strife v. Aldine Independent School District, Case No. 24-20269 (5th Cir., 5/16/25).
What This Means
For personnel issues, when is it in the employer’s best interest to delay addressing an issue? NEVER.
Being proactive is the name of the game. Considering requests for accommodation can be complicated and difficult. But don’t increase the complication and difficulty by delaying the interactive process and reaching a decision. Do your homework, obtain necessary health information, discuss with the employee the accommodation need, and act promptly.
Charlie Plumb is an attorney in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, office of McAfee & Taft. He can be contacted at charlie.plumb@mcafeetaft.com.