Streamline ADA and PWFA leave accommodation requests in Cocoon

It seems like just a few weeks ago we shared our 5 newest launches—probably because it was just a few weeks ago. And yet, here we are again, with another big update. Today, we’re excited to announce our new product experience that initiates and streamlines the process of considering leave as an accommodation under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) or Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—it takes the guesswork out of a notoriously complex process for employees and People teams alike. 

This new functionality enables employees to request an ADA or PWFA leave accommodation right from their Cocoon Dashboard and drives the interactions with their employers from there, who review and ultimately approve or deny the request. These workflows save People teams time and stress by providing employees easy and reliable access to a legally required interactive process to request leave as an ADA or PWFA accommodation.

Streamline leave accommodation requests in Cocoon

Although ADA and PWFA leave accommodation requests may not be frequent, when they do come up, they are often confusing and time consuming. Not to mention, there’s a lot of risk involved. The EEOC keeps statistics on the number and types of discrimination charges it receives and their most recent data shows that after retaliation, disability discrimination is the most frequently filed form of employment discrimination. Last year more than 25,000 charges were filed, making up 34% of all EEOC discrimination charges (!!) 

Here’s the good news: Cocoon’s got you covered. Our new leave accommodation experience saves People teams time and streamlines the interactive process by pulling some of the most disjointed pieces of the process together in product:

Employee leave accommodation request experience 

Employees can request leave as an accommodation in Cocoon when either they 1) have exhausted all available time under FMLA, state laws, and company policy, or 2) they are not eligible for FMLA, state laws, or company policies to begin with. Cocoon will then collect sufficient information and documentation from the employee regarding the nature of the request. 

People team leave accommodation request experience 

After the employee submits the leave accommodation request and requested information, Cocoon will surface this information in the Employer Admin Dashboard. Once an Employer Admin has reviewed the request, they can approve it, deny it, or request additional information directly in Cocoon.

By automating the request, review, and approval workflows for ADA and PWFA requests, People teams don’t have to worry about missing key steps and opening themselves up to risk.

“When it comes to the ADA, the interactive process is equally if not more important than the result employers reach.”
^{- Frank Alvarez, Cocoon founding legal counsel}

"When it comes to the ADA, the interactive process is equally if not more important than the result employers reach. We expect this new tool will substantially improve both employee and employer leave accommodation experiences," says Frank Alavrez of Cocoon. "Our software identifies the instances when employees have no sources of medical leave under the FMLA, state law or company policies, and then initiates workflows that allow employees to easily request leave as an ADA accommodation. Employers immediately view and approve or deny employee requests, or ask for more information or supporting medical documentation. Our team has been interested in tackling this issue for a while and we are super excited about this launch.”   

Build a more inclusive workplace, stress less about compliance

Cocoon’s mission is to empower every working person to focus on the important things in life when it matters most—this is absolutely inclusive of workers with disabilities who have every right to the same opportunities as everyone else. Disability discrimination laws are not getting any easier to administer, and they aren’t going away. Workers deserve these rights, and People teams deserve solutions that help them streamline the process. We’re excited to usher in a new era of more inclusion and accessibility for Cocoon, especially as we continue to expand on this functionality.