Can Federal Employees Request Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation?

October 31, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″ el_class=”section section1″][vc_column_text]As a federal employee, there are many types of leave as a reasonable accommodation you can request to save your job. A federal employee has the liberty to ask for a sick, unpaid or an annual leave depending on the situation at hand. If you need leave due to medical crisis and can’t work and are unsure of the direction to take, you can contact our firm to help you through the process.

Disability retirement

A sick or disabled employee has an option to request for a sick/disability leave if he/she can no longer execute his/her duties as expected at work. Seeking federal employee disability retirement requires consulting with the office of personnel management. Asking for disability retirement is an excellent idea especially if for someone who can no longer execute their duties to perfection, but it’s not the only option. Once you’ve asked for disability retirement, you cannot get your job back even after recovery.

Requesting leave

For an employee that expects a full recovery, the best option for them is to ask for a leave. In such a situation it’s necessary to check with the federal agency the duration of the leave they are willing to provide for the employee. Also, know when it reaches a point of disciplinary action or losing the job altogether. The key to getting a leave depends entirely on how a worker requests for one as there are many rules and regulations put in place to protect one against illnesses or disability. The approach is very crucial because you may fail to meet the required reasons for getting a leave.

Leave as an ‘effective’ accommodation

For employees that under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973/ ADA meet the classification of being disabled, they can use the existing leave as a reasonable accommodation. In a situation where an employee can prove that using an annual or sick leave is an effective accommodation then the agency has no right to deny the request unless the use of that leave reaches to the point of undue hardship. The agency can also decline the request if there is another effective reasonable accommodation that suits the employee even better.

Family Medical Leave Act

As a federal employee, you are not tied down to only one option in case you need to take a leave. Family Medical Leave Act is another option you can consider. It is available for federal employees when they suffer from severe medical conditions. In case of an injury, impairment, physical or mental disease, or illness that requires inpatient care or undergoing treatment, then an employee can request for a Family Medical Leave Act to see a health care provider.

The good thing with requesting for this type of leave and accommodation is that through it you will have secured your job and the employee can take twelve weeks without getting fired. The Family Medical Leave Act protects the employee from losing their position if they left work without clarifying things with the agency.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”34323″ img_size=”292×285″ style=”vc_box_shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]