The Interactive Process Under The ADA
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Following the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), employers have had to shift their compliance efforts to emphasize the interactive process—a critical, and often complex, dialogue between employer and employee to explore reasonable accommodations. The ADAAA significantly broadened the definition of "disability" and prompted both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and courts to expand the interpretation of employer responsibilities. This webinar will guide employers through the intricacies of the interactive process, offering clarity on evolving legal standards and actionable strategies to navigate accommodations while balancing operational needs.
This session goes beyond theory to focus on real-world applications. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how the ADAAA interacts with other federal laws such as the FMLA, Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Benefits, and private disability insurance. Practical exercises will be included to simulate the interactive process, helping attendees build confidence in managing accommodations effectively and lawfully. Whether you’re in HR, compliance, or management, this training is vital to staying compliant, reducing legal exposure, and fostering a supportive, productive workplace.
Your Benefits For Attending:- Understand the ADA as a law requiring a structured process that may yield different outcomes for each employee
- Review the Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the definition of disability—and how the ADAAA reversed those limitations
- Explore the critical components and legal requirements of the interactive process
- Learn what constitutes an “undue hardship” and how employers can substantiate such a claim
- Examine how the ADAAA intersects with FMLA, Workers' Compensation, Social Security Benefits, and private disability plans
- Participate in practical exercises to gain hands-on experience with conducting the interactive process
Why this webinar is a must-attend:
By attending, you'll gain critical legal knowledge and practical tools to confidently handle accommodation requests, reduce compliance risks, and support employee productivity in a legally sound way.
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Wendy Sellers
Wendy Sellers, MHR, MHA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR has 25 years of experience in HR, change management, operations, strategy, corporate culture, and leadership development in all size businesses (local startup to global enterprise) in a wide variety of industries including healthcare, professional services, hi [...]
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This webinar received a total of 2 survey responses. Attendees have given an average rating of 5.0 stars out of a possible 5, reflecting the quality and value of the content presented.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The interactive process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an ongoing, individualized dialogue between an employer and an employee with a disability to identify and implement reasonable accommodations that enable the employee to perform the essential functions of their job. Following the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008—which significantly broadened the definition of disability—courts and the EEOC have consistently held that employers must engage in this process in good faith whenever an employee requests an accommodation or when the employer has reason to believe one may be needed. Failure to initiate or participate meaningfully in the interactive process is itself an ADA violation, regardless of whether an accommodation could ultimately have been provided. The process is not a one-time event but a continuing obligation that must be revisited as circumstances change. Wendy Sellers, SHRM-SCP and SPHR, walks HR professionals through the legal requirements and practical mechanics of the interactive process in Aurora Training Advantage's The Interactive Process Under The ADA webinar.
A reasonable accommodation under the ADA is any modification to a job, work environment, or the way work is customarily performed that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. Common examples include schedule modifications, remote work arrangements, ergonomic equipment, job restructuring, reassignment to a vacant position, modified policies, and leave beyond what FMLA provides. The key legal standard is that the accommodation must be effective—it must actually address the functional limitation—and must not impose an undue hardship on the employer. Importantly, employers are not required to provide the employee's preferred accommodation if an equally effective alternative exists. The obligation runs to qualified individuals—those who can perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation. Wendy Sellers, with 25 years of HR and employment law experience, provides concrete guidance on identifying and evaluating accommodation options in Aurora Training Advantage's The Interactive Process Under The ADA webinar.
The intersection of the ADAAA with FMLA, Workers' Compensation, Social Security Disability, and private disability insurance creates one of the most legally complex areas HR professionals navigate. An employee on FMLA leave may simultaneously be entitled to ADA accommodations—such as extended leave beyond the 12-week FMLA entitlement—if the condition qualifies as a disability. Workers' Compensation injuries frequently also meet the ADA's definition of disability, triggering the interactive process obligation in addition to workers' comp requirements. Social Security Disability determinations, while relevant context, do not automatically mean an employee is unable to perform any job—ADA analysis is job-specific. Private disability insurance policies have their own definitions of disability that may differ from the ADA standard. Managing these overlapping obligations requires a structured, documented approach. Aurora Training Advantage's The Interactive Process Under The ADA webinar, led by Wendy Sellers, provides HR professionals with a practical multi-law framework for handling these complex, concurrent situations.
Undue hardship is the legal standard that allows an employer to decline an accommodation that would impose significant difficulty or expense. It is not a low bar—courts and the EEOC require employers to conduct a genuine, individualized analysis rather than reflexively claiming hardship. Factors relevant to the analysis include the nature and cost of the accommodation, the organization's overall financial resources, the type of operation and its workforce size, and the impact of the accommodation on the facility's operations. An accommodation that would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the business, eliminate an essential job function, or impose severe financial strain may qualify as an undue hardship. Crucially, the burden of proof is on the employer to document and substantiate the hardship claim with specific evidence—general assertions of inconvenience do not suffice. Wendy Sellers, SHRM-SCP and SPHR, guides HR professionals through building and documenting defensible undue hardship analyses in Aurora Training Advantage's The Interactive Process Under The ADA webinar.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 fundamentally shifted the ADA compliance landscape by reversing a series of Supreme Court decisions that had significantly narrowed the definition of disability. Before the ADAAA, courts often found that individuals with conditions like cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and severe depression did not qualify as disabled because their impairments were mitigated by medication or treatment. The ADAAA explicitly rejected this approach, mandating that the definition of disability be construed broadly and that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures—except ordinary eyeglasses—be ignored when assessing whether a limitation is substantially limiting. It also expanded the 'regarded as' disabled category, offering greater protection to employees perceived as disabled regardless of whether they actually are. The practical result is that far more employees now qualify for ADA protection, making the interactive process more frequently triggered and more legally consequential. Aurora Training Advantage's The Interactive Process Under The ADA webinar, featuring Wendy Sellers, helps HR professionals understand and operationalize these expanded obligations.