The pattern I see most often: an employee with a disability asks for a reasonable accommodation — a modified schedule, remote work, a piece of equipment, additional leave, a reduced lifting requirement. The employer stalls, demands paperwork that goes beyond what the law requires, or simply says no. Sometimes the employee is pushed out during the back-and-forth. Sometimes they’re terminated shortly after the request.

This is an “interactive process” failure — one of the most common and most provable disability-discrimination cases in Michigan. Employers are required by law to engage in good-faith dialogue about accommodations. When they don’t, they’re liable.

I’m Warren Astbury. I’m a Harvard Law graduate (2009) with 15 years of experience and 50+ trials to verdict. I represent Michigan employees — only employees, never employers — in disability discrimination, accommodation-denial, and retaliation cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PDCRA).

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation → Or call 814-821-1140

The three-question intake filter for accommodation and retaliation cases

1. You have a disability or a serious medical condition — physical or mental — that substantially limits one or more major life activities (working, standing, walking, concentrating, sleeping, lifting, breathing, caring for yourself, and others).

2. Your employer knew about it — because you told them, asked for an accommodation, or provided documentation.

3. Your employer either refused to engage in the interactive process, denied a reasonable accommodation, or fired, demoted, or retaliated against you in connection with your disability or your accommodation request.

If those three are true, call 814-821-1140 or request a free case evaluation →.

Who qualifies as “disabled” under the ADA

The ADA defines an “individual with a disability” three ways. You only need to fit one.

1. Actually disabled. You have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The statute specifically includes walking, seeing, breathing, hearing, speaking, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working. It also includes major bodily functions — immune system, cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

2. Record of a disability. You have a history of a disability, even if it’s in remission or resolved. Cancer survivors, people with a history of mental illness, and people in recovery from substance-use disorders are classic examples.

3. “Regarded as” disabled. Your employer treats you as if you have a significant impairment, even if you don’t actually have one — or has the condition but isn’t limited by it. This protects people fired because a boss believed (incorrectly) that they had a condition, or because of visible differences that triggered the employer’s concern about others’ “negative reactions.”

Short-term conditions can qualify. A common misconception is that a disability has to last six months or more. Not true. Under the ADAAA (the 2008 Amendments Act, which expanded the definition), even short-term impairments can be disabilities if they substantially limit a major life activity. Some temporary conditions are excluded under the “regarded as” prong, but not under the other two.

Michigan adds more coverage

The federal ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PDCRA) applies to employers with one or more employees. If your employer is too small for the federal ADA, the PDCRA likely still covers you.

What’s a “reasonable accommodation”?

A reasonable accommodation is any change or modification to a job, the work environment, or the way things are customarily done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job — or to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment as everyone else.

Common examples:

Modifying a work schedule (later start time, reduced hours, intermittent leave)
Allowing remote or hybrid work
Providing extra leave beyond what company policy normally allows
Restructuring a job (reassigning non-essential duties)
Reassigning the employee to a vacant position they’re qualified for
Acquiring or modifying equipment (ergonomic chair, screen reader, voice-recognition software, sit-stand desk)
Making existing facilities accessible (ramps, accessible break rooms, reserved parking)
Modifying training materials or the way training is delivered

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) — a free federally funded resource at askjan.org — is the gold standard for figuring out what accommodations are available for specific conditions. I recommend clients use it before and during the accommodation conversation.

“Qualified individual with a disability”

To be entitled to an accommodation, you have to be a “qualified individual with a disability.” That means:

You meet the legitimate skill, experience, education, and other requirements of the position; and
You can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

The essential functions are the core, must-do parts of the job. A pre-existing written job description is the best evidence of what those are. A job description that was created after the employer learned of your disability — and suddenly includes requirements you can’t meet — is a red flag courts and juries treat with appropriate skepticism.

The interactive process — where most employers fail

This is the heart of most ADA cases I handle. When an employee with a known disability requests an accommodation, the employer is required by law to engage in an interactive process — a good-faith dialogue to identify an accommodation that works for both sides.

The interactive process has four steps:

Analyze the position — what does the job actually require, and what are the essential functions?
Consult with the employee — what are the specific job-related limitations caused by the disability, and how could they be overcome?
Identify potential accommodations — what options exist, and how effective would each one be?
Consider the employee’s preferences — the employer doesn’t have to give you your first choice, but it has to consider what you want.

Good-faith participation is required on both sides. If you refuse to engage or withhold information, you weaken your case. If the employer refuses to engage, demands you self-propose a complete solution without any dialogue, or terminates the discussion prematurely, that’s typically a winning case.

Common interactive-process failures I see

Employer ignores the accommodation request entirely
Employer demands excessive or invasive medical documentation
Employer drags out the process for weeks or months without progress
Employer makes no counter-proposal when it rejects the employee’s suggestion
Employer fires the employee during the process for an unrelated, pretextual reason
Employer offers an accommodation that doesn’t actually address the limitation
Employer forces the employee onto unpaid leave as the “accommodation” when other options exist

When any of these happen, the interactive-process failure itself is actionable — even before you get to the question of whether a specific accommodation would have worked.

“Undue hardship” — the employer’s defense, and its limits

An employer is not required to provide an accommodation that would cause “undue hardship” — significant difficulty or expense considering the employer’s size, resources, and structure.

The key points:

Larger employers have a higher bar. A Fortune 500 company’s claim that a sit-stand desk is an undue hardship is rarely credible.
The employer bears the burden of proving undue hardship. You don’t have to prove the opposite; they have to prove it.
Cost is one factor, but not the only one. Disruption to operations, safety concerns, and the nature of the business also matter.

Employers often raise undue hardship as a defense when it doesn’t actually apply. Scrutiny of that claim is usually most of the case’s evidentiary work.

“Direct threat” — when an employer can refuse to accommodate on safety grounds

There’s a narrow exception where an employer can refuse to keep you employed even with a reasonable accommodation: if your disability poses a direct threat — a substantial risk of serious harm to yourself or others — that can’t be reduced through reasonable accommodation.

This is a high bar. The employer must use objective, medically verifiable evidence to show the threat is real. Generalizations, ignorance, fear, and stereotypes don’t cut it. “He’s on antidepressants so he’s dangerous” is not a defense. “Cancer treatment affects her concentration so she’s a liability” is not a defense.

If your employer invoked a safety concern to terminate or refuse to accommodate you, we’ll look hard at whether they actually met this standard. Most don’t.

Association discrimination — when your relative or partner has a disability

The ADA also prohibits employers from discriminating against you because you associate with someone who has a disability. If you were fired because your child has cancer and your employer worried you’d be too distracted or take too much time off, that’s unlawful — even if you yourself don’t have a disability.

Representative ADA case patterns

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case is different. The following are representative fact patterns from cases I’ve handled.

Large settlement against a hospital for terminating an employee who missed work while receiving cancer treatment — a classic ADA-plus-FMLA fact pattern.
Federal judgment for an employee fired after requesting additional medical leave as an accommodation.
Multiple settlements involving accommodation denials where the employer failed to engage in the interactive process.

See more representative case frameworks on the Results page →.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer fire me because of my disability?

Generally, no. With the narrow “direct threat” exception above, an employer is prohibited from discriminating against you because of your disability in any terms or conditions of employment — hiring, firing, layoffs, promotions, leave, compensation, benefits, training, or anything else. If you suspect disability discrimination, the single most important thing you can do is put the concern in writing — an email to your supervisor and HR, documenting what happened and when. It’s evidence we’ll use later.

Do I have to tell my employer I have a disability?

The ADA doesn’t generally require you to disclose. But to get an accommodation, the employer has to know. You don’t have to share your exact diagnosis — typically, providing enough information to show you have a condition that limits a major life activity and that an accommodation would help is sufficient. A brief note from a healthcare provider usually does it.

My employer is asking for extensive medical records. Do I have to provide them?

Not necessarily. The employer is entitled to reasonable documentation that confirms the disability and supports the accommodation request. They’re generally not entitled to your complete medical history. Overbroad medical-records demands are a common form of interactive-process interference, and refusing to comply with unreasonable demands usually strengthens a case.

How long do I have to file an ADA claim?

You generally must file a charge with the EEOC within 300 days of the discriminatory act in Michigan (because Michigan has its own civil rights enforcement agency). After the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue, you have 90 days to file a lawsuit. Michigan’s PDCRA has its own, longer statute of limitations. Don’t wait — evidence disappears and witnesses move on.

What damages are available in an ADA case?

Under the federal ADA, you can typically recover back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for pain and suffering, punitive damages (for willful or reckless conduct, subject to caps under federal law), and attorney’s fees. Under Michigan’s PDCRA, punitive damages are not available, but compensatory damages can be awarded without federal caps. Often we plead both claims.

For a detailed walkthrough of how these damages get calculated, see the Wrongful Termination hub →.

Ready to talk?

If you were denied a reasonable accommodation, were forced through a broken interactive process, or were fired or retaliated against because of your disability or accommodation request, I want to hear about it. Free consultation, 15–30 minutes, honest answer at the end.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation →

Or call 814-821-1140 directly.

Astbury Law, PLLC 607 Shelby Street, 7th Floor, #1115 Detroit, MI 48226 814-821-1140 · warren@astburylaw.com

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. The information on this page is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this page or submitting a form.