Welcome to the Harmonious Workplaces blog! We recently hosted Rachel Shaw, President of Rachel Shaw, Inc. and Shaw HR Consulting, on Episode 83 to discuss how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can be used not just for compliance, but to actively improve workplace culture and inclusion. If you’re looking for the one thing you can do now to improve your disability accommodation program, keep reading.
HR’s Defining Role: Equalizing the Power Differential
Rachel Shaw, one of the nation’s leading experts in disability compliance and inclusion, argues that Human Resources’ primary function in this area is to equalize the power imbalance inherent in compliance matters.
Rachel began her career in ADA compliance in 1990 as a brand new HR person—the work was simply part of her “other duties as assigned”. She quickly realized there were few practical tools for HR professionals and started creating strategies and programs herself. She now helps organizations build programs that are not only compliant but also human-centric.
In organizations where accommodation needs are challenging, there is often a significant power differential. Managers or leadership might hold implicit bias, concerned that accommodating a disability (whether invisible, psychological, or physical) could impact productivity or cost. When an employee discloses a need, the management’s response—especially if it’s a quick “no”—is an exercise of this power.
Rachel emphasizes that organizations build or damage their culture one action—or inaction—at a time. To counteract negative tendencies, HR must institute clear processes, flowcharts, forms, and scripts to ensure employees are treated consistently. This process equalizes the power difference and ensures consistency remains, even with turnover.
Leading with Data, Not Feelings or Bias
A crucial element of Rachel Shaw’s approach is demanding and utilizing high-quality data. The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation. However, the interactive process often breaks down because healthcare providers, who are practitioners and not ADA experts, provide what Rachel calls “crappy data”.
Examples of crappy data include vague limitations such as “no heavy lifting,” “no prolonged sitting,” or “no forceful pushing and pulling”. When faced with this unclear data, supervisors or managers often use their own opinion, preference, or bias to make a decision, usually defaulting to “no”.
HR’s role is to lead with curiosity and challenge the vague data. By using standardized questionnaires, HR can request clarification from the healthcare provider. For instance, “no heavy lifting” for a custodian might be clarified to mean “no lifting more than five pounds with their injured right arm,” but they might still be able to lift 50 pounds using both hands. By using this specific, clarified data, HR can often “find a yes” that accommodates the employee and meets the job requirements.
Leading with data changes the dynamic, moving negotiations away from arguments based on power toward decisions based on measurable facts. This approach is particularly important currently with the return-to-office (RTO) procedures, where employers are receiving many remote work accommodation requests. Rachel advises employers to manage change effectively first, then enter the accommodation process, letting the data guide decisions instead of fear or emotion.
The Power of Inexpensive Solutions
While many employers fear that ADA accommodations will “break the bank,” the cost is almost universally low. Rachel notes that in her 26-year career managing accommodations, the average cost of a workplace ADA accommodation is under $300, and is usually zero. Expensive examples, like American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters or facility modifications (Title II of the ADA), are rare in the employment context (Title I).
If something truly imposes an undue financial hardship, an employer can say no, but common sense solutions are found very often through the proper use of data.
Rachel Shaw’s Four-Step Interactive Process
To ensure consistency and good faith, Rachel recommends a four-step hallway protocol that HR professionals shepherd from start to finish. This process increases the likelihood that decisions—even a “no”—will be understood and accepted by the employee, lowering the risk of conflict and litigation.
The four steps are:
- Data Gathering: Collect data once the employer is triggered (by request, perception of disability, or knowledge) and ensure you are in the right spot for the process.
- Communication and Research: Communicate the data collected to all parties and research possible accommodation ideas. This includes seeking out creative solutions to find a “yes.”
- Interactive Process Meeting: Hold a meeting where the parties talk, explore, and share concerns, looking at each other to ensure transparency and honesty.
- Implementing the Decision: Implement the resulting decision (yes, no, or maybe). HR must shepherd the process to closure so the accommodation is actually executed and doesn’t rely solely on a busy supervisor or manager.
The Mindset Shift: Start with “Yes”
Ultimately, true inclusion is about more than just checking a compliance box. It’s about creating workplaces that work better for all employees. When employees see how their colleagues with different needs are treated, it builds trust or erodes it. Most employees who stay with an organization for more than five years will eventually need disability-related support for themselves or their family, making fair accommodation practices a key driver of retention and commitment.
The most critical mindset shift Rachel wishes every HR leader would adopt is: Assume there is a yes out there… and work to get there—not the other way around. If HR starts by trying to prove a “no” to win a potential lawsuit, they have already failed the goal of good faith. HR’s commitment to gathering the data and seeking out a yes is what protects the organization and creates a more equitable workplace.
About Rachel Shaw
Rachel Shaw is one of the nation’s leading experts in disability compliance and inclusion. As President of Rachel Shaw, Inc. and Shaw HR Consulting, she helps organizations develop strategies, training, and customized programs to meet or exceed their compliance and inclusion goals. She is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and author known for making the ADA practical and actionable. She strives to create generational opportunities by helping organizations remove unnecessary barriers.
Contact Information: Free resources and training support are available on Rachel Shaw’s website: https://www.shawhrconsulting.com/
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