We’ve found one more reason to fight back against return-to-office mandates: More and more remote workers are reportedly requesting accommodations from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Over the last few years, companies around the world have been insistent on getting employees back in the office, despite the majority of work from home productivity stats showing that the employee perk is good for business.
As a result, remote workers have done what they can — from petitions to walk-outs — to keep their flexible schedules intact. Now, ADA requests are on the rise.
ADA Requests Are Up for Second Year in a Row
According to a report from AbsenceSoft, titled 2025 State of Leave and Accommodations, ADA requests have risen for the second year in a row, with 60% of HR professionals stating that they saw an increase. Even more substantial, of those that said they saw an increase, 62% said the increase was by more than 21%.
The most common accommodation was remote work, with 51% of requests specially asking to work from home. On top of that, 46% were requesting intermittent leave or reduced schedules.
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Given the fact that RTO mandates started hitting headlines with gusto just a few short years ago, this massive influx of ADA requests may simply be part of the pushback.
However, an increase in long-term disabilities is also what we’d expect to see if studies highlighting the negative long-term effects of Covid-19 are correct, given that everyone and their mother has caught the bug a handful of times by now. Much like those caring for young kids or elderly parents, those with disabilities need to work remotely to maintain flexible schedules, avoid burnout, and care for themselves.
Is Remote Work Even Covered by the ADA?
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the government agency in charge of enforcing the ADA, businesses are not required to provide remote work to all employees. However, if you offer any remote work positions, you “must allow employees with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in such a program.”
“Not all persons with disabilities need — or want — to work at home. And not all jobs can be performed at home. But, allowing an employee to work at home may be a reasonable accommodation where the person’s disability prevents successfully performing the job on-site and the job, or parts of the job, can be performed at home without causing significant difficulty or expense.” – US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Subsequently, there are scenarios in which an employee may be entitled to work from home, if they meet the requirements and go through the proper channels to get them approved.
How to Manage ADA Requests As a Business
The language in the ADA dictates that businesses must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, as long as it doesn’t cause “undue hardship.” That kind of vague language obviously leads to some subjective interpretation, so how should you business approach these kinds of requests?
The best place to start is a good faith discussion with your employees. Flexible schedules can make life infinitely easier for your staff, and if productivity isn’t dropping, abiding by these requests could do a lot to improve employee satisfaction.
Our Impact on Technology in the Workplace report even found that business providing remote work have higher employee retention and increased revenue, which makes this accommodation a bit of a no-brainer.
