Every day, employees make decisions about whether or not to share their health, disability, or religious needs at work. And they often turn to their manager first—not HR. That makes managers the true front line of workplace accommodations. How they respond in these moments can determine whether employees feel trust and dignity—or fear and isolation.
The landscape of work is shifting quickly:
For managers, this isn’t just about compliance—it’s about culture, trust, and retaining talent. Mishandling requests can lead to turnover, legal risk, and even personal liability.
The good news: managers don’t need to be experts in disability law. But they do need to know their role. Think of it as being the first responder—not the final decision maker.
Here’s what that means in practice:
Do:
Don’t:
When an employee opens up, the simplest framework is:
A best-practice response sounds like:
“Thank you for being open with me. I appreciate you sharing this. Let’s make sure you have the right support—I’ll connect with HR so we can talk through options and next steps together.”
An accommodation is simply an adjustment to the way work gets done so that an employee can perform their job and have equal access to the workplace. That could mean:
These aren’t “special treatment”—they’re equity in action. And they can be temporary or ongoing, depending on the need.
As a manager, you set the tone. You don’t need to know all the answers—you just need to know the process.
When in doubt: Recognize → Escalate → Support.
Accommodations done right protect employees, protect the company, and protect you. Let’s get it right, together.
👉 Want to equip your managers with scripts, templates, and compliance guardrails? Learn more about Disclo.
Most employees turn to their managers first when seeking accommodations for health or religious reasons at work. Use this guide as a best practices overview when responding to an employee's disclosure.
Every day, employees make decisions about whether or not to share their health, disability, or religious needs at work. And they often turn to their manager first—not HR. That makes managers the true front line of workplace accommodations. How they respond in these moments can determine whether employees feel trust and dignity—or fear and isolation.
The landscape of work is shifting quickly:
For managers, this isn’t just about compliance—it’s about culture, trust, and retaining talent. Mishandling requests can lead to turnover, legal risk, and even personal liability.
The good news: managers don’t need to be experts in disability law. But they do need to know their role. Think of it as being the first responder—not the final decision maker.
Here’s what that means in practice:
Do:
Don’t:
When an employee opens up, the simplest framework is:
A best-practice response sounds like:
“Thank you for being open with me. I appreciate you sharing this. Let’s make sure you have the right support—I’ll connect with HR so we can talk through options and next steps together.”
An accommodation is simply an adjustment to the way work gets done so that an employee can perform their job and have equal access to the workplace. That could mean:
These aren’t “special treatment”—they’re equity in action. And they can be temporary or ongoing, depending on the need.
As a manager, you set the tone. You don’t need to know all the answers—you just need to know the process.
When in doubt: Recognize → Escalate → Support.
Accommodations done right protect employees, protect the company, and protect you. Let’s get it right, together.
👉 Want to equip your managers with scripts, templates, and compliance guardrails? Learn more about Disclo.
