Vocations · Job Skills

Ask clearly.
Get it in writing.

A good accommodation request is short and specific: what part of the job is hard, what change would help and how. You do not need to name a diagnosis to start. Fill in the request and the builder prints a finished letter, flags what to tighten and keeps track of when to follow up.

Write a requestWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 34 items.

Your requests

The worked example is made up: a warehouse shift lead asking for a stool and seated breaks, and a request with no specific change that needs work. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Job Skills$5

What you finish with
A record per request: your name, who it goes to, the employer and its size, your job, the date, the tasks affected, the limitation in your words, each accommodation with how it helps, documentation, whether a diagnosis is named, a follow-up date and seven checks. Prints a finished letter; flags a missing specific request, an unneeded diagnosis, employer size, follow-up timing and an open-to-options line.
Who it is for
Employees, interns and new hires with a disability or health condition, and job seekers preparing to ask.
Format
Browser letter builder with a saved record per request. Prints the finished letter, the request record, every request in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Say who the letter goes to and your job.
  2. Describe the tasks and the limitation in your own words.
  3. List each change and how it helps you do the job.
  4. Work through the checks.
  5. Print the letter, send it in writing and set the follow-up date.

Write a request

How a request goes

How a request usually goes1AskIn writing, with specificchanges2TalkThe interactive process: whatworks for both3DocumentsThe employer may ask for aprovider’s note4DecideAn effective option, yours ortheirs5Try itCheck in after a few weeks6Keep recordsDates of each reply andmeetingHow a request usually goes1AskIn writing, with specific changes2TalkThe interactive process: what works forboth3DocumentsThe employer may ask for a provider’snote4DecideAn effective option, yours or theirs5Try itCheck in after a few weeks6Keep recordsDates of each reply and meeting
An employer can turn down an accommodation that would be an undue hardship, but it should then look for another effective option.

Ideas for accommodations

The Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org), funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, lists accommodations by limitation and by job, and answers questions free. Many accommodations cost little or nothing.

Your rights in brief

Under the ADA, employers with 15 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities unless it would be an undue hardship, and may not retaliate against you for asking.

Sources

  1. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA (eeoc.gov).
  2. Job Accommodation Network. Requesting an accommodation and sample letters (askjan.org).
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy. Accommodations (dol.gov/agencies/odep).
  4. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title I, 42 U.S.C. § 12111 and following.

The worked examples are made up. This builder helps you write a request; it is not legal advice. State and local laws may give more protection. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.