Legal Question in Disability Law in Washington

ADA - Reasonable Accommodation

It is unclear whether this is a question as to the appropriateness of the "accommodation" provided by the employer or a question as to the procedure required under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). The regulations suggest that the employer consult with the employee to determine the accommodation required, because it makes sense in a lot of cases where the need for an accommodation is unique. That does not prevent the employer from establishing policies to deal with injured employees, especially if the policy is reasonably directed to prevent further harm to the employee. The ADA does not give the employer authority to reduce the number of hours of work required of the employee, although that might be an accommodation if the employee's condition requires a reduction of hours. The purpose behind the ADA is prevent discrimination in the workplace (and in other settings covered by the ADA) against employees with disabilities (or with perceived disabilities). It is possible (but not conclusive) that a reduction of hours, which results in a reduction of pay, constitutes discrimination, if the reduction of hours is not reasonably required to accommodate the employee. The ADA anticipates that disabilities will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and a blanket work-reduction policy which affects employees regardless of the nature of their injuries could be in violation of the ADA. You should consult an attorney in your area who is familiar with the ADA so that your particular circumstances can be taken into consideration and so that it can be determined whether you qualify for an accommodation under the ADA.

Re-examination by doctor for proper ADA accommodation

The problem appears to be with the doctor. Who asked him for a letter of wellness if you didn't?My sense is that he was "taken in" by someone.Go to him, be re-examined so that he can determine your progress medically.Then he can issue another letter, one that would seek the medically appropriate accommodation. That is what seems to be underlying yur query. . . that you are being asked to perform in a job that yu are not ready medically to perform without some sort of an accommodation exclusive of a reduction in hours.Without more info from you, it is difficult to say more.However, the law requires that you be able to perform the job with a REASONABLE accommodation if necessary to perform it.Something seems to have gotten scrambled . . . but nothing seems to all that "sinister."Find an attorney who can speak to the doctor after you're re-examined and then negotiate with the company for the appropriate accommodation.Good luck.