Thank you for all this information! I’m grateful for the ADA but never realized how lucky we are to have it in the USA. May I ask what motivated you to move to the Netherlands?

Ngl I didnt realize working from home was one of the accomodations I could ask for. That said… its kind of hard to do almost any job in my field from home (chemist)

In mine and my partner’s experience, ADA accommodation process was a joke, and little more than lip service.

My partner is diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and Bipolar 1 with psychotic features. That is to say, they get crippling depression and often anxiety to the point of shaking, which can lead to hearing voices of those around them, convinced coworkers hate them. They are fully medicated and the illness is under relative control, but episodes are inevitable under stress.

The position was IT support through phone, email and a ticket system. No in-person support required.

The requested accommodation was a dark office (which was available ten steps from their desk) to work from during the worst of times. Also requested/suggested (as alternatives are recommended) was remote work up to three days in a week, as needed.

Medical documentation was requested and provided. Phone and zoom interviews with my partner’s Pdoc in addition to written statements from the Pdoc.

DENIED
REASON: No justifiable work need
TRANSLATION: We don’t want that, so no.

After sharing so much intimate information, supervising manager then used illness as a cause for discrimination and ridicule. My partner was offered a better position by an admiring manager in a similar but less intense department, with their own office, and remote work as they saw fit. Within a month, their self image improved and received a promotion and accolades for quality of work.

This was at a state university, who many would assume have a liberal slant favoring disabled workers, not to mention awareness of how ADA works. The old manager had forced them to work on site during COVID even when the building was empty and locked to visitors, despite having full remote capability with softphones and …you know, the internet.

For my case, I had my own office, and requested to be left alone when my migraines came on. I would continue to work, but needed to be left alone. My work was 90% alone, as the only IT support staff on site. Even during COVID, I was forbidden to shut my door, despite a locked building with no staff on site.

The ADA coordinator at the university was an HR person that always simply deferred to the requests of the manager. The union later told us ADA accommodations were exceedingly rare, unless it was about wheelchair clearances, translators for the deaf, or RSI-friendly input devices and furniture.