Written for California employers, HR directors and business owners, this guide explains the reasonable accommodation interactive process: the good-faith dialogue between an employer and an applicant or employee, required by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) when that applicant or employee has a known disability or medical condition. The sections below cover who is covered, what the key terms mean, when your duty to start the process begins, what each stage should look like, and a self-audit checklist for your HR team.
Quick Takeaway
Primary Insight: A California employer that learns of a possible need for accommodation must initiate a timely, good-faith dialogue with the employee, working directly with that employee to identify and implement the type of accommodation that most effectively allows the employee to perform their job duties. The better that process is documented, the easier it is to demonstrate that the employer performed their good-faith obligation.
Key Fact: As described in Government Code section 12940, subdivisions (m) and (n),
FEHA creates two distinct categories of unlawful employment practice: failure to provide reasonable accommodation and, separately, failure to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process with the employee.
Best Suited For: California employers with five or more employees, including HR directors and business owners who receive accommodation requests, manage requests for leave of absence, or decide whether an employee can return to work.
Written for California employers and HR leaders. Shankar Legal Inc. represents employers and businesses, not employees.
Many employers assume that the duty to provide reasonable accommodation begins when an employee officially requests it. The regulations say otherwise: an employer is obligated to initiate that process immediately upon learning of the employee’s need for accommodation, whether from a direct request, from a third party, or by observation. The employee is not required to use any type of formal procedure to invoke their right to accommodation; instead, the employer is expected to proactively engage in an interactive process, working with the employee in good faith to facilitate their continued employment. Treating this interactive process as a separate legal duty, with its own steps and its own paper trail, is the most practical way for an employer to satisfy this legal obligation.
Who Must Follow the Reasonable Accommodation Rules Under FEHA
Employers that regularly employ five or more persons must follow the FEHA reasonable accommodation rules; Government Code section 12926, subdivision (d) defines "employer" to include any person regularly employing five or more persons, and the Civil Rights Department states that it is illegal for employers of 5 or more employees to discriminate against job applicants and employees. One notable exception is a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, which is not defined as an employer under the statute.
The law has two separate provisions that apply to any qualifying employer. Subdivision (m) of section 12940 makes it unlawful to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee, and subdivision (n) makes it unlawful to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request by an applicant or employee with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition. An employer can therefore face liability for a flawed process even if that employer eventually provides a satisfactory level of accommodation.
Subdivision (m)(2) adds a retaliation rule: an employer may not retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation, regardless of whether the request was granted. The implementing regulations appear in 2 CCR sections 11064 through 11069, and the interactive process itself is in section 11069.
As of October 2026, the Legislature's published history shows that section 12940 was most recently amended effective January 1, 2025, and that section 12926 was amended by SB 477, effective January 1, 2026, which addresses FEHA enforcement procedures and adds a definition of "group or class complaint." Because this area of law has undergone recent revision, employers should review current statutory text with qualified counsel before any policy is created or revised.
What FEHA Reasonable Accommodation Means: Disability, Essential Functions and Undue Hardship
Under 2 CCR section 11065, subdivision (p), FEHA defines reasonable accommodation as a modification or adjustment that effectively gives an applicant with a disability equal opportunity to be considered for a job, enables a current employee to perform the essential functions of the job, or ensures that an employee with a disability receives equivalent benefits and privileges of employment. The statute's own definition in section 12926, subdivision (p) is shorter and non-exclusive, covering facility access, job restructuring, part-time or modified schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, special equipment, and similar measures. The regulation's list of examples adds job restructuring, modified work schedule, modification of business policy, permission to work from home, leave for treatment and recovery, and reassignment to a vacant position.
The term ‘disability’ has a simple definition under the statute: As per the text of section 12926, a physical or mental condition qualifies as a disability when it limits a major life activity, making the achievement of that activity difficult, and that determination is made without regard to mitigating measures such as medication or assistive devices. FEHA also protects a "medical condition," which section 12926, subdivision (i) defines as a health impairment related to cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics that impact physical function.
Essential functions are the fundamental job duties of the position, not its marginal functions, per section 12926, subdivision (f). A written job description is relevant evidence, but the analysis turns on the actual requirements of the job. The regulation lists reasons a function may be essential, such as the reason the position exists, the limited number of employees available to perform it, or the specialized expertise it requires.
Undue hardship is the employer's defense, and the employer carries the burden: under section 12940(m)(1), an employer may be excused from providing accommodation only if that employer demonstrates that such accommodation produces undue hardship. Section 12926, subdivision (u) defines undue hardship as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, considered in light of the cost of the accommodation, the resources of the facility and of the employer, and the type of operations. The law specifies that an employer’s net cost analysis must include factors such as available tax credits, deductions and outside funding.
When the Duty to Start the Interactive Process Begins
An employer must initiate the interactive process in a timely manner when it receives notice of a possible need for accommodation, and 2 CCR section 11069, subdivision (b) lists three triggers:
- A request: an applicant or employee with a known physical or mental disability or medical condition asks for accommodation.
- Awareness by other means: the employer learns of the need through a third party or by observation.
- Exhausted leave: the employee has used up leave under workers' compensation, CFRA, the FMLA or an employer leave policy, and the employee or the employee's health care provider indicates that further accommodation is still needed.
"Timely" has no fixed number of days in the statute or in the regulation text reviewed for this guide. Timeliness is therefore judged on the facts, which is the reason a dated record matters. A request that sits in a supervisor's inbox for weeks, or a medical note that no one answers, is the kind of delay a later review will examine.
The regulation also states that an employee's mental or physical inability to engage in the process does not eliminate the good-faith obligation. Employers should not treat silence from an employee who is on leave or hospitalized as an excuse to suspend or terminate the process.
The Reasonable Accommodation Interactive Process, Stage by Stage
The reasonable accommodation interactive process moves through seven distinct stages: notice, initial response, job analysis, medical documentation if needed, option review, decision, and follow-up. The table below maps each stage to the statutory text and refers to the records an HR team should keep. The particular items listed in the documentation column are not mandatory but instead reflect recommended practice, as the law itself does not specify which types of records must be retained.
| Stage | What the employer should do | Documentation to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Notice | Open the process when a request arrives, when the need becomes known through a third party or observation, or when leave has run out and further accommodation may be needed (section 11069(b)). | Date and form of the request or of the employer's awareness; who received it; date the process opened. |
| 2. Initial response | Respond without delay, explain the process, and name one HR contact. The employer must ultimately either grant the requested accommodation or reject it after engaging in the interactive dialogue process (section 11069(c)(1)). | Acknowledgment; dated meeting notes with participants; any interim measures offered. |
| 3. Job analysis | When needed to assess the request, analyze the particular job and its essential functions (section 11069(c)(5)). | Current job description; the essential-function analysis and who contributed to it. |
| 4. Medical documentation, if needed | Request documentation only when the disability or the need is not obvious and has not already been supported. Limit the request to the functional limitations and the need, and explain any insufficiency before asking again (section 11069(c)(2) to (4)). | Written request stating what is needed and why; the provider's response; clarification letters; all of it filed in a separate confidential medical file. |
| 5. Option review | With the employee, identify potential accommodations and assess how effective each would be; consider any reasonable accommodation brought to the employer's attention, and the employee's preference (section 11069(c)(7) and (8); section 11068(e)). | List of options considered, the outcome of each and the reasons. |
| 6. Decision | Select and implement an effective accommodation. If no accommodation is possible without undue hardship, evaluate reassignment to a vacant position and document the hardship analysis (section 11068(a) and (d)). | Written decision to the employee; implementation date; for any hardship claim, the factors applied and the cost and operations data behind them. |
| 7. Follow-up | Check that the accommodation works, revisit it if the employee's needs or the job change, and for accommodations extending beyond one year the employer may request annual documentation (section 11069(f)). | Follow-up dates; adjustments made; annual documentation requests. |
Medical Inquiries and Confidentiality Limits
An employer may ask for reasonable medical documentation during the interactive process only when the disability or the need for accommodation is not obvious, and the request must stay tied to the accommodation. Section 11069(c)(3) states that once reasonable documentation is in hand, the employer shall not ask about the underlying medical cause of the disability. Section 11069(d)(5) adds that the employer shall not ask for unrelated documentation, which in most cases means that an employee is not required to share complete medical records.
Different statutory limits apply to applicants and to employees. Under section 12940(e), an employer generally may not make medical or psychological inquiries of an applicant, but may ask about the ability to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicant's request for accommodation, and may request a job-related examination after an offer is made and before duties begin. For current employees, section 12940(f) permits examinations or inquiries that the employer can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity.
When documentation offered by an applicant or employee is insufficient, the regulation sets a sequence: the employer explains why it is insufficient and allows the employee an opportunity to supplement, and only then may it require an examination by a health care provider of the employer’s choice. In that circumstance, the employer pays all costs and allows time off for the visit (section 11069(d)(5) and (8)).
Medical information gathered in the process must be kept confidential. Under section 11069(g), such information must be maintained on separate forms and in medical files separate from the personnel file. Information from such medical files can be divulged for necessary, practical purposes: supervisors and managers may be told of work restrictions and necessary accommodations, first aid and safety personnel may be told where emergency treatment may be needed, and government officials investigating compliance are given relevant information on request.
Reassignment and Leave as Accommodations
Under 2 CCR section 11068, subdivision (d), the interactive process mandates that an employer consider reassigning an employee to a suitable, vacant position if the employee can no longer perform the essential functions of the current position. The statute lists four circumstances that may trigger this requirement: 1) the employee can no longer perform the essential functions of his or her own position even with accommodation; or 2) accommodation of the essential functions of an employee's own position creates an undue hardship; or 3) both the employer and the employee agree that a reassignment is preferable to being provided an accommodation in the present position; or 4) an employee requests reassignment to gain access to medical treatment for his or her disabling condition(s) not easily accessible at the current location.
The law sets limits on that duty. If no existing, vacant, comparable position exists, the employer may reassign the employee to a lower-graded or lower-paid position, as the employer is not required to create a new position beyond what it would offer any employee. Additionally, while an employee with a disability receives preferential consideration for a vacant position over other applicants and existing employees, an employer is generally not required to ignore or override an existing, bona fide seniority system.
Leave can also qualify as reasonable accommodation, and is addressed in section 11068, subdivision (c). Holding a job open or extending a leave provided by the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the FMLA, or an employer leave plan, may constitute an accommodation if it is likely to be effective and does not create an undue hardship. CFRA applies to an employer that directly employs five or more persons under Government Code section 12945.2. Therefore, an employer should treat a request to extend leave past the CFRA entitlement as a possible accommodation request, and inquire into an employee’s circumstances, rather than automatically deny it.
What a Good-Faith Interactive Process Looks Like
A good-faith interactive process is individualized, documented and open to alternatives, and it treats the employee's input as information rather than as a demand. Several rules in the regulations shape that standard:
- Individualized assessment:section 11068(i) requires an employer to assess an employee's ability to perform the essential functions individually, with or without accommodation, and bars a "100 percent healed" policy in the absence of that assessment.
- Preference versus effectiveness: the employer must consider the employee's preference, but it may select and implement an accommodation that is effective for both sides (section 11068(e)).
- No forced accommodation: an employer may not require a qualified individual to accept an accommodation or retaliate for refusing one, although it may explain that refusal could leave the employee unable to perform the essential functions (section 11068(f)).
- Safety defenses come second: the health-or-safety defenses in section 11067 apply only after the employer has engaged in the interactive process and found no reasonable accommodation, and the risk must be imminent and substantial.
Employers building a written process can also work with counsel through HR consulting, and a charge or complaint that questions the process is covered in our guide to responding to a Civil Rights Department complaint.
Reasonable Accommodation Self-Audit Checklist for Employers
An HR team can use this checklist to test whether its accommodation process matches the regulatory text:
- Written procedure: a policy names who receives requests and tells supervisors to forward any mention of a medical need to HR the same day.
- Triggers: managers are trained that observation, a third-party report or an exhausted leave can start the duty, not only a formal request.
- Dated record: every file shows when notice arrived, when HR responded and when each step happened.
- Job analysis: current job descriptions identify essential functions, and the analysis is refreshed for each request.
- Narrow medical requests: forms ask for functional limitations and the need for accommodation, not diagnoses or complete medical records.
- Confidential files: medical information sits in separate files, and access matches the exceptions in section 11069(g).
- Alternatives recorded: each file lists the options considered, including reassignment and leave, and the reason for the final decision.
- Hardship analysis: any undue hardship conclusion rests on the statutory factors and on actual cost and operations data.
- Retaliation guardrails: supervisors know that a request for accommodation, granted or not, cannot be a basis for adverse treatment.
- Periodic review: active accommodations are revisited, with annual documentation requests where the accommodation extends beyond one year.
FAQ: Reasonable Accommodation and the Interactive Process for Employers
What must an employer do to start the reasonable accommodation interactive process?
An employer must start the reasonable accommodation interactive process when an applicant or employee with a known disability or medical condition asks for accommodation, when the employer learns of the need through a third party or by observation, or when an employee's leave has run out and further accommodation may still be needed. Those triggers appear in 2 CCR section 11069, subdivision (b). The regulation requires an employer to initiate the process as soon as the employee’s need becomes known, so that employer cannot wait for a formal written request.
How can employers show undue hardship under FEHA?
Employers can show undue hardship under FEHA by demonstrating that an accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense, measured against the factors in Government Code section 12926, subdivision (u). Those factors include the nature and cost of the accommodation, the financial resources of the facility and of the employer overall, and the type of operations. The regulation adds that a net cost analysis must account for available tax credits, deductions and outside funding, so a documented analysis should use real figures and cover the full factor list.
What medical information may an employer request during the interactive process?
An employer may request reasonable medical documentation during the interactive process when the disability or the need for accommodation is not obvious, and that request should stay within the limits in 2 CCR section 11069. The documentation may confirm the existence of a disability and explain the need for accommodation, including functional limitations, but the employer may not ask about the underlying medical cause once it has reasonable documentation. In most circumstances, the regulation also bars requests for an employee's complete medical records.
Does the interactive process requirement apply to employers with fewer than five employees?
The interactive process requirement applies to covered employers under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and Government Code section 12926, subdivision (d) defines "employer" to include any person regularly employing five or more persons. The Civil Rights Department's employment page likewise describes the discrimination protections as applying to employers of five or more employees. An employer near that threshold, or one that is unsure how its workers are counted, should have counsel confirm coverage before relying on it.
Can an employer require a leave of absence instead of another accommodation?
An employer may not require a leave of absence when the employee can continue working and perform their job duties with reasonable accommodation, according to 2 CCR section 11068, subdivision (c). The same subdivision specifies that holding a job open, or extending a CFRA or other leave, are viable types of accommodation when the leave is likely to be effective and does not create undue hardship.
Build an Accommodation Process Your HR Team Can Document
The reasonable accommodation interactive process rewards employers that treat it as an efficient procedure: a trigger that identifies every possible need and informs HR, a clear, manageable set of stages that don’t overly burden the employee, a narrow medical records request, and a file that shows what was considered. Each of those pieces is something a policy and a training session can build before the next request arrives.
Shankar Legal Inc. helps California employers review their accommodation policies, request forms and documentation practices, and advises on discrimination defense when a process is questioned. Employers who want a compliance review with counsel can contact Shankar Legal.
Shankar Legal represents employers and businesses; workers with a question about workplace accommodation should contact the California Civil Rights Department through its public employment page.
This article is general information for employers, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, so confirm current requirements with counsel.