The CDC is directing employees who have already provided supporting medical documentation for a reasonable accommodation to update or resubmit their medical documentation.
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Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention waiting for the agency to process their accommodation requests for disabilities and medical conditions are facing an imminent deadline to submit supporting medical documentation – even if they have already done so. CDC, in an email sent on Aug. 20, told employees with pending reasonable accommodation requests that they must resubmit their supporting medical documentation within 20 calendar days. That deadline is Sept. 9. In the email obtained by Government Executive from two sources, CDC states that if employees don’t receive the requested documents within that timeframe, “your case will be administratively closed.” The email also tells employees that any interim accommodations “will also cease upon administrative closure of the case.”“As part of the ongoing reconciliation of Reasonable Accommodation Program records, we need to ensure that the medical documentation supporting your request is available for review,” the email states. The Department of Health and Human Services’ updated reasonable accommodation policy states employees have 20 calendar days to submit their medical documentation once requested by their agency, “though reasonable extensions may be granted.” If a reasonable accommodation coordinator finds an individual’s medical documentation is insufficient, they may get the opportunity to provide additional documentation. CDC’s instructions go beyond what’s stated in the department’s policy. The agency is directing employees who have already provided supporting medical documentation to update or resubmit their medical documentation. According to the memo, the agency is seeking this paperwork from employees in the following circumstances:
