Ten worked-example letters
Cartas de ejemplo completas
Cartas completamente redactadas que puede copiar o descargar, centradas en licencia por salud mental, adaptaciones según la ADA y los desafíos específicos que enfrentan en el trabajo los sobrevivientes de trauma. Cada carta incluye comentarios que explican por qué está redactada así, los errores más comunes y las autoridades legales invocadas.
FMLA Leave Requests
Worked examples for requesting FMLA leave for mental health. Each letter is short, kind, and lets your provider supply the medical detail.
- 01
Intermittent FMLA Leave for Mental Health
You are in ongoing treatment for a mental health condition. You need time off for regular appointments and for occasional days when symptoms make work unsafe or unworkable. You are asking HR to open an intermittent FMLA file.
5 annotations·7 legal citations·7 common mistakes
- 02
Continuous FMLA Leave for a Mental Health Condition
You need to step away from work entirely for a defined period for a mental health condition. Your doctor or therapist has recommended a leave of absence to focus on treatment.
5 annotations·7 legal citations·5 common mistakes
ADA Accommodation Requests
Worked examples for requesting ADA accommodations for mental health conditions. Each letter names specific accommodations and invokes the interactive process.
- 03
ADA Reasonable Accommodations for Mental Health
You are able to do your job but need specific adjustments to work sustainably with a mental health condition. You are asking for reasonable accommodations under the ADA, not for leave. You want your employer to engage in the interactive process.
5 annotations·7 legal citations·6 common mistakes
- 04
Remote Work as an ADA Accommodation
You have a mental health condition with identifiable triggers in your workplace (crowding, unpredictable noise, specific people, the commute). Working remotely would remove those triggers and let you do your job reliably. Your doctor or therapist supports the request.
5 annotations·6 legal citations·6 common mistakes
- 05
Flexible Schedule for Therapy
You are in ongoing therapy and need your weekly appointment time protected. You do not need leave. You need schedule flexibility so a standing appointment can happen without your job being at risk every week.
5 annotations·6 legal citations·5 common mistakes
Survivor-Specific Letters
Letters written for trauma survivors navigating records requests, EAPs, and employer-side administrators with sensitive material.
- 06
Limit Medical Records Release to a TPA
A third-party administrator (TPA) handling your FMLA or STD claim has asked you to sign a broad HIPAA authorization that would give them access to your full medical record, including therapy notes. You want to provide only the WH-380-E and nothing else.
5 annotations·7 legal citations·5 common mistakes
- 07
Decline EAP Referral, Keep ADA Request
You asked HR for a reasonable accommodation. Instead of engaging in the interactive process, HR offered to refer you to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). You want to decline the EAP referral without having it count as a rejection of 'help,' and you want your accommodation request to stay on track.
5 annotations·5 legal citations·5 common mistakes
Responses and Follow-Ups
Letters for when something has already gone wrong: a delay, a denial, or a pattern of concerning treatment after you asserted a right.
- 08
Follow Up on a Delayed Accommodation Request
You sent an accommodation request. Silence. Two weeks have passed and HR has neither scheduled a meeting nor acknowledged the substance of your request. You want to create a clean record of delay while keeping the conversation open.
5 annotations·5 legal citations·5 common mistakes
- 09
Document Concerning Treatment After Protected Activity
You took FMLA leave, requested an ADA accommodation, or reported discrimination. Since then you have noticed a pattern of negative treatment: lost responsibilities, hostile managers, disciplinary write-ups, exclusion from meetings. You want to document this in a single letter that creates a record.
5 annotations·5 legal citations·5 common mistakes
These letters are educational tools, not legal advice. They are written from the worker's perspective and invoke real federal and state regulations, but every situation is different. If you are close to a termination, a disciplinary action, or a decision about litigation, talk to an employment attorney.