Federal Employee Reasonable Accommodation

Federal employees with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act. Federal agencies are required to engage in an interactive process with employees and to provide effective accommodation unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. When agencies fail to meet these obligations, employees may have viable claims of disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act.

 

Disability-Based Reasonable Accommodation 

 

Accommodation disputes often involve:

• Denial of accommodation requests

• Unreasonable delay in providing accommodation

• Failure to engage in the interactive process

• Excessive medical documentation demands

 

These disputes frequently turn on the adequacy of medical documentation and the agency’s participation in the interactive process. Early evaluation of written requests, medical documentation, and agency responses is often critical in assessing the strength of these claims.

 

Religious Accommodation

 

Federal employees may also request accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs under Title VII. Denial of religious accommodation can be addressed through the same federal sector EEO process.

 

Representation Through the EEO Process

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Hosea Legal represents federal employees nationwide at every stage of their EEO complaints: informal counseling, formal complaints, agency investigations, and hearings before administrative judges at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

​At the EEOC, our attorney advances the legal rights of her clients through requests and responses to written discovery (interrogatories, document demands, requests for admissions, etc.), defending clients in depositions, taking depositions of management officials, filing motions for her clients and opposing agency motions, engaging in settlement negotiations, and representing federal employees at EEOC hearings. 

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Insight Into Federal Agency Decision-Making

 

From 2022 to 2025, Stephanie Hosea served as an Attorney-Advisor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she focused exclusively on federal employment law. That experience provides her with practical insight into how federal agencies analyze reasonable accommodation requests, evaluate medical documentation, and assess undue hardship. She leverages that understanding to strategically advocate for federal employees seeking accommodation through the EEO process and to anticipate the defenses agencies are likely to raise.