In brief

• Remote work has become the most frequently requested disability accommodation, leading to a rise in discrimination complaints and lawsuits.
• Return-to-office mandates are increasing legal disputes over whether in-person attendance is an essential job function.
• Employment attorneys recommend employers maintain clear job descriptions, consistent accommodation policies, and a well-documented interactive process.
• Recent federal court decisions reflect evolving standards on remote work accommodations, with mixed outcomes for employees challenging denials.

Local employment attorneys say they have seen requests to work remotely as a disability accommodation increasingly become a source of friction between workers and employers, mirroring a trend seen nationally.

In an article published earlier this year in the Wisconsin Law Review, Professor D’Andra Millsap Shu noted that disability accommodation requests are on the rise overall, and in 2024 — the most recent year for which data was available — remote work was the most requested accommodation.

“Disability discrimination complaints and lawsuits over remote work have spiked and will likely continue to rise,” Shu wrote.

The reasons are understandable, attorneys say.

Remote work has arguably redefined “essential job functions” under the disability laws, said plaintiffs’ side employment attorney David E. Belfort of Cambridge. The law is that one needs to be able to perform the “essential functions” with or without...

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