Reasonable Accommodations

Reasonable Accommodation Procedures

Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits employment discrimination 

against individuals with disabilities in the federal sector and requires federal agencies to provide 

reasonable accommodation to qualified employees or employment applicants with disabilities, 

unless doing so would cause undue hardship.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) fully complies with the reasonable 

accommodation requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. FMCS is dedicated to improving 

the employment, retention, and advancement of qualified persons with disabilities by providing 

reasonable accommodation information and resources. To that end, FMCS processes requests for 

reasonable accommodation and, where appropriate, provide reasonable accommodation in a 

prompt, fair, and efficient manner.

In addition, as required by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, FMCS has established a written policy 

to assist agency employees and managers with processing requests for reasonable 

accommodation. FMCS's policy contains a comprehensive explanation of reasonable

accommodation procedures for submitting or responding to reasonable accommodation requests.

For further information regarding Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s Reasonable 

Accommodation policy and procedures, you may direct your email to NSamuels@FMCS.gov

Initiating Request for Reasonable Accommodation. 

When an employee or applicant makes a request for reasonable accommodation, either on his/her 

own behalf, or through a family member, health professional, or other representative acting on 

the individual's behalf, the following requirements apply:

1. For an employee, the request may be made verbally or in writing to his/her supervisor or 

manager, the Equal Employment

Opportunity Office, or the Disability Program Manager. An applicant makes his/her verbal or 

written request to the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, the Disability Program Manager, 

the interviewer from the office having the vacancy for which he/she wants to be considered, or 

any FMCS Office employee with whom he/she has had contact. A verbal request for 

accommodation is acceptable when made. For record-keeping purposes only, the employee or 

applicant may also submit the request in writing. Otherwise, the request for accommodation will 

be documented by the individual to whom the request was made. The appropriate FMCS Office 

must not wait until a written request or other recordkeeping form is received before processing a 

verbal request for reasonable accommodation. Employees and applicants who use assistive 

technology ( e.g., Braille reader, screen reader, TTY, etc.) may contact the Disability Program 

Manager and request their preferred format in which to receive materials.

2. The request must state, at a minimum, that the individual needs an adjustment or change at 

work or in the applicant process for a reason related to a medical condition.
3. All FMCS Offices must not require the requesting individual to use any particular words, as 

examples the Rehabilitation Act and the phrase "reasonable accommodation," when requesting 

reasonable

accommodation.

4. If a requested accommodation is approved and is of the type that will be needed on a repeated 

basis ( e.g., sign language interpreter), the individual does not have to submit an additional 

request each time the accommodation is needed. In such cases, the FMCS Office must provide 

the accommodation on an as needed basis. The EEOC has issued federal sector decisions holding 

that in some circumstances where an individual has a recurring, predictable need for 

accommodation, the agency may be obligated to provide the accommodation as needed, whether 

or not the individual has requested it. 

5. All requests for and provision of reasonable accommodations must be kept confidential. 

Supervisors and Managers should review EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable 

Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act (revised 

October 17, 2002), Question 42, which provides guidance on ways to respond to other 

employees' inquiries without violating confidentiality.