Aug 21, 2025
Balancing Equity and Empathy: Resolving ADA Disputes in the Era of Return-to-Office, By MyKhanh Shelton, Esq., Mediator
July 2025 marked a turning point in the workplace. According to Placer.ai, office attendance hit a post-pandemic high, and most Fortune 100 employees are now subject to full-time return-to-office (RTO) mandates. While in-office work hasn’t yet reached pre-pandemic levels, the tide has clearly shifted and RTO is becoming the norm again rather than the exception.
That shift is colliding head-on with disability accommodation law. More employees are requesting continued remote work as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, pointing to years of proven success at home. Employers, meanwhile, are under pressure to enforce RTO policies in the name of equity and collaboration. The result is a steady stream of disputes—many of which increasingly appear in mediation— where litigation looms over claims that employers failed to engage in the interactive process in “good faith.”