Responses and Follow-Ups

Follow Up on a Delayed Accommodation Request

A fully-written letter you can copy or download. Below the letter we explain why it is written the way it is, the mistakes most people make, and the legal authorities the language invokes.

The letter

▸Show full letter

To: HR at [Employer Name]
From: [Your Full Name]
Date: [Today's Date]
Subject: Follow Up on Accommodation Request Submitted [Date of Original Request]

Dear [HR Contact Name],

I am following up on my reasonable accommodation request, which I submitted on [Date of Original Request] (copy attached).

As of today, [Number] business days have passed since my request. I have not received:

1. An acknowledgment of the specific accommodations I requested.
2. A proposed meeting date to discuss the request.
3. A decision on any of the accommodations.
4. A written request for additional medical documentation.

To move this forward, I am asking for:

1. Written acknowledgment of my original request, listing each accommodation I asked for.
2. A meeting to discuss the request within the next seven business days.
3. If additional medical documentation is needed, a written description of exactly what is needed so my doctor or therapist can respond.

I am still happy to engage in good faith to find accommodations that work for both me and the employer. Please confirm receipt of this follow-up and propose a meeting within five business days.

Thank you,

[Your Full Name]
[Your Work Email]
[Your Phone Number]

Attachment: Original accommodation request dated [Date]

Replace every bracketed prompt with your own information before sending. Everything in brackets is for you. Everything outside brackets is the letter.

Before you send this

Many employers do not handle FMLA paperwork themselves. They hand it off to a third-party administrator, usually called a TPA. A TPA is a leave-management vendor, like Sedgwick, Unum, Lincoln, or The Hartford, that your employer pays to process claims. TPAs have an incentive to close claims quickly, and they use a predictable set of tactics to push employees into giving up more than the law actually requires. Watch for these:

Blanket HIPAA authorization forms. These are not required for FMLA. The WH-380-E certification is. A broad HIPAA release can pull therapy notes, substance use records, and unrelated medical history into a corporate vendor's database.
Demands for records beyond the WH-380-E. The law limits what your employer or its TPA can require to what is necessary to determine FMLA eligibility. You are not obligated to provide a full chart.
Artificial delays that trip deadlines. If the TPA says your certification is incomplete, they must tell you in writing exactly what is missing and give you seven calendar days to fix it. Silence is not a legal denial.
Direct calls to your healthcare provider. TPA claim examiners cannot call your provider for general information. Contact for clarification must be routed through a healthcare professional designated by the employer.
Pressure to use an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) instead of accommodations. An EAP is a short-term counseling benefit your employer funds, usually limited to three to eight sessions. An EAP referral is not a response to an ADA accommodation request, and engaging with the EAP can muddy your record.

Watch out for the sign-up process. HR typically sends you to a TPA website to register and "start your claim." Those sign-up flows are where most of the traps live: pre-checked HIPAA authorization boxes, fields asking you to enter your diagnosis, current medications, symptoms, or the contact information for your treating providers. None of that is required to open an FMLA claim. Fill in only the administrative fields (name, employee ID, employer, dates) and leave clinical fields blank.

If the portal will not let you proceed without medical entries, or if anything about the process feels coercive, raise the concern in writing. A short email to HR and the TPA is enough: say that the portal appears to be asking for information that goes beyond what the FMLA certification requires, that you understand the employer's information rights are limited to what is necessary to determine FMLA eligibility, and that you would like to submit your certification through an alternative channel (email or fax to the TPA directly, with your provider sending the completed WH-380-E to that address). Wait for a written response. Only use the alternative if HR or the TPA agrees. Putting the concern in writing either gets you the alternative or creates a paper trail that protects you if the claim is later denied or delayed.

If any of this is happening, read Protecting Your Medical Records, FMLA and HIPAA Privacy Rights, or use the letter that limits records release to a TPA. If you need to talk to someone free of charge, see our list of free legal helplines and crisis lines.

When to use this letter

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.

Delay is the most common way employers fail the ADA without ever denying a request outright. The regulation does not set a specific timeline, but EEOC guidance is clear that 'undue delay' itself can constitute a failure to accommodate.

This letter does three things: documents the original request and the silence, asks for a written acknowledgment, and sets a firm new deadline. After this letter, delay is harder to defend.

Why the letter is written this way

Each paragraph is doing specific legal work.

01
Why attach the original request
HR cannot credibly claim 'we did not receive it' or 'we thought you were asking for something else' if the original is attached. The attachment is the difference between a follow-up and a new request.
02
Why enumerate what was not received
Listing the four specific things you have not received (acknowledgment, meeting date, decision, documentation request) converts vague 'they haven't responded' into a documented list of failures. Each item is a specific obligation under the regulation.
03
Why ask for a written documentation request
One of the most common stall tactics is 'we are waiting for more information from your provider' without ever specifying what. Forcing a written list of what is needed closes that loophole.
04
Why ask for a meeting in seven business days
A short, specific deadline creates a new benchmark. If the employer misses this one too, you have cleaner evidence of undue delay for an EEOC charge or future litigation.
05
Why keep the tone open and constructive
Even a follow-up letter is part of the record. A constructive tone preserves the case that you were the reasonable party throughout, which matters if the employer later argues you were the one who refused to engage.

Don't do this

The mistakes that undo the letter.

01Calling HR multiple times without sending anything in writing. Verbal follow-ups do not create a record.
02Not attaching the original request. Without it, HR can reframe the history of the request.
03Setting a deadline that is too aggressive (24-48 hours). Courts look for reasonableness; five to seven business days is both firm and defensible.
04Including personal frustration in the letter. Stick to the regulation, the timeline, and the ask.
05Not sending the letter by email with a read receipt or delivery confirmation. Proof of sending matters as much as proof of drafting.

Legal authorities cited

The language invokes real regulations.

42 U.S.C. § 12112: ADA Title I discrimination prohibition
29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(o)(3): Interactive process requirement
29 C.F.R. § 1630.14(c): Medical documentation requirements
EEOC Enforcement Guidance No. 915.002: Undue delay as failure to accommodate
Cowell v. Illinois Dep't of Human Services, 2024 WL 551891 (S.D. Ill. Feb. 12, 2024): Delay supporting ADA interference claim

Keep reading

Where to go next.

LeaveRights es una herramienta educativa gratuita y no proporciona asesoramiento legal. No se recopilan ni almacenan datos. La información proporcionada es solo para orientación general. Consulte a un abogado laboral calificado para obtener asesoramiento específico a su situación.

Each paragraph is doing specific legal work.

Why attach the original request

Why enumerate what was not received

Why ask for a written documentation request

Why ask for a meeting in seven business days

Why keep the tone open and constructive

The mistakes that undo the letter.

The language invokes real regulations.

Where to go next.