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ARTICLE · 04 NOVEMBER 2022

Is Leave With Just An "Expected" Return To Work Date Still Considered An ADA Reasonable Accommodation?

Fisher Broyles
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This situation comes up fairly often. An employee with a disability can't perform their job, and needs leave to recover and return to work.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Eric B. Meyer
Eric B. Meyer

This situation comes up fairly often. An employee with a disability can't perform their job, and needs leave to recover and return to work.

We know that indefinite leave is not a reasonable accommodation. But what about taking leave with only an "expected" return to work date? Is that too indefinite to be unreasonable?

I read a Pennsylvania federal court decision last night involving a woman terminated in January 2019 for allegedly refusing to return to work following a leave of absence precipitated by postpartum psychosis.

In December, the plaintiff and her doctor returned a form requesting an ADA accommodation that included her diagnosis of "Postpartum psychosis," a description of her symptoms, and her requested accommodation—a period of leave that was "expected" to end on March 15. Concluding that this was not a reasonable accommodation (akin to an indefinite leave), the defendant eventually terminated the plaintiff's employment because she exhausted her

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