Many government employees are unaware that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows them to request work-from-home accommodations based on mental health conditions.

This knowledge gap, if remediated, has the potential to reshape the "Return to Office" landscape amid demands by the Biden administration and congressional Republicans that federal government workers return to work in a traditional office setting.

The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and this includes mental health conditions. Keith Sonderling, commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, told me earlier this year about the importance of understanding these legal protections.

"Employers must engage in an interactive process with employees who request accommodations for mental health conditions," says Sonderling. "If an employee is diagnosed with a mental health issue, the employer is obligated to consider accommodations, which could include remote work."

During the pandemic, many government employees experienced the benefits of working from home, including the elimination of commutes, increased productivity and better work-life balance. As Sonderling points out, there is no inherent legal right to remote work. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued recent guidance about how the right to work remotely becomes protected under the ADA when it is a reasonable accommodation for a disability.

Brandalyn Bickner, a spokesperson for the commission, underscored in the Fall of 2023 that under the ADA, the mandate for “reasonable........

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