How to ask
- Tell the practice manager or Helen, in writing if you can. You don’t need magic words and you don’t need to name a law. “I need a change because of a medical condition” is enough.
- We talk. This is the interactive process: you tell us what’s getting in the way and what would help, we tell you what’s workable, and we look for a solution together. Most requests are settled in one conversation.
- We may ask for a note from your provider confirming the need, the expected duration, and any limits. We won’t ask for a diagnosis, and we never ask for documentation for simple pregnancy-related needs such as more frequent breaks, water, or seating.
- We confirm what’s agreed in writing and put it in a file kept separate from your personnel file.
What “reasonable” means
We provide the accommodation unless it would create an undue hardship: significant difficulty or expense given the practice’s size and resources, or a change that removes an essential part of the job. A different accommodation than the one you asked for may be offered if it works. Common examples here: a schedule shift, telehealth-only days for a period, equipment, a change to how supervision is delivered, or time off.Disability
We follow the Americans with Disabilities Act standard for every employee, including the interactive process described above. If a request is denied, you’ll be told why in writing and what alternatives were considered.Religion
We accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, including observance days, dress, and prayer. Observance days that fall on your working days can be handled as a schedule swap or a banked day. See Holidays.Pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions
You are entitled to reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related conditions. The practice won’t deny you an opportunity because of the need to accommodate, and won’t require you to take leave if another accommodation lets you keep working. Utah’s Antidiscrimination Act (Utah Code § 34A-5-106(1)(g) and (7)) sets these rights for employers with 15 or more employees and requires that this notice appear in the employee handbook. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act sets a matching standard at the same threshold. The practice applies both now, below the threshold, by policy.Nursing
If you are nursing a child, you get reasonable break time to express milk, as often as you need it, for at least one year after the child’s birth, and a private space that is not a bathroom and is shielded from view and intrusion. That is the federal PUMP Act, which applies to every employee here, salaried or hourly. In the office, ask the practice manager which room; on telehealth days, it’s your own space. Breaks are paid for salaried staff. For hourly staff, short breaks are paid and longer breaks where you’re fully relieved of duty are unpaid, the same as any other break.Leave as an accommodation
Time off can itself be an accommodation. See Other leave for how unpaid leave works.No retaliation
Asking for an accommodation, or using one, never counts against you. If you think it has, use the reporting path in Anti-harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.Why. Most accommodation problems come from silence: someone struggles for months before saying anything. Ask early. It’s a small conversation here.