The interactive accommodation process, or simply interactive process, refers to the

collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mo ...

effort involving an

employer Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

and

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...

to determine if the employee can return to work subsequent to an

occupational Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

or non-occupational

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

disorder Disorder may refer to randomness, non-order, or no intelligible pattern. Disorder may also refer to: Healthcare * Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance * Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern ...

. The process typically involves a face-to-face meeting with the employee and representatives for the employer (usually a

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

or risk management representative). The parties bring various ideas to the table regarding whether the employee can be accommodated in returning to their usual and customary (U&C) position or some other type of work. The parties may agree that a certain aspect of the U&C position can be modified, or alternative work found, to accommodate the employee's change in capacity.

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

The

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 196 ...

mandates that all employers must engage in an interactive process to determine if a

reasonable accommodation A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, physic ...

of the employee's

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, s ...

can be made. The

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

(EEOC) defines the interactive process as:

"an informal, interactive process ... oidentify the precise limitations resulting from the disability and potential reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations."29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(o)(3)

Using a consultant

Employers often hire outside

consultants A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

to help with requests for reasonable accommodation and facilitating the interactive process. The consultant's main role is to act as an objective party and facilitate dialog between the employer and employee. Both parties benefit as the employer's exposure to an ADA action is reduced while the employee feels more comfortable having an objective, third-party involved in the process.

References

Disability rights Disability law in the United States {{Improve categories, date=December 2022