Your Essential ADA Reasonable Accommodation Checklist


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ADA reasonable accommodations ensure equal access to workplaces, services, and digital space for individuals with disabilities. Our ADA reasonable accommodation checklist covers physical and digital accessibility, helping you meet ADA requirements while improving user experience and lowering legal risk.
Imagine losing a qualified job candidate because your online application isn’t accessible or losing sales because customers can’t access your building. Now imagine you’re facing a lawsuit because of these accessibility barriers.
That’s exactly what’s happening to thousands of companies around the U.S. They’re facing lawsuits due to a lack of accessibility in either their online or physical locations, which is a direct violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, organizations are legally required to make reasonable accommodations that ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.
But what exactly is a reasonable accommodation? How can you ensure your business is ADA-compliant? That’s what we’ll cover below — what a reasonable accommodation is and a checklist with key physical and digital accessibility requirements that help you avoid legal trouble.
A Brief Refresher on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Before we jump into our reasonable accommodation checklist, a quick review of the ADA.
The ADA is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including workplaces, schools, transportation, and public spaces. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that this includes both physical and online spaces. The goal is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
A key part of ADA compliance is providing reasonable accommodations — adjustments that allow individuals with disabilities to access services, perform job functions, or navigate spaces without significant difficulty or functional limitations.
Just as businesses remove physical barriers, they must also eliminate digital barriers by ensuring their online content — including websites, mobile applications, responsive mobile design, online documents, and other digital tools — is accessible. This typically means following the accessibility standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, which outlines best practices for making digital content usable by individuals with disabilities.
Who Qualifies for ADA Accommodations
Under the ADA, qualified individuals can request reasonable accommodations in specific settings to make physical or online spaces — such as workplace settings, public services, and organizations open to the public.
However, not everyone is automatically qualified for ADA accommodations — they must meet specific criteria. To qualify, a person must:
- Have a disability as defined by the ADA: The ADA defines disability as “someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a history or record of such an impairment, or is perceived by others as having such an impairment.” This includes conditions such as blindness, deafness, mobility impairments, autism, ADHD, and chronic conditions.
- Be qualified to participate in or perform the essential functions of a job, program, or service: The ADA requires accommodations for individuals who can meet the , service, or public program with reasonable modifications. For examfundamental requirements of a jobple, an employee with a vision impairment may request a screen reader to perform job tasks, but an employer is not required to remove essential job duties altogether.
- Be in a setting covered by the ADA: The right to request accommodations applies to employees in the workplace, students in schools, customers accessing public businesses, and individuals using government services.
For example:
- A customer who is blind and relies on assistive technology to navigate your website.
- An employee with a hearing impairment who needs captions on all video content.
- A job applicant with limited mobility who requires voice dictation software to complete the forms in your hiring process.
These individuals are qualified to request reasonable accommodations to remove accessibility barriers and fully participate in public and online spaces.
How to Respond to a Reasonable Accommodation Request
If you receive a reasonable accommodation request from an employee or staff member, the ADA requires both the employee and the employer to complete an interactive process. The process involves exploring, discussing, implementing, and monitoring the workplace accommodation the individual is asking for. Below are the steps you should follow in your accommodation process.
- Review and respond to the accommodation request(s): When an employee requests an accommodation, be sure to review and respond to it in a timely manner.
- Gather any necessary information: Next, gather information around the employee’s disability or limitations and the essential functions of the job they’re performing. This might involve getting medical documentation, meeting with their healh care provider, or consulting with your human resource department.
- Explore your options: Determine what options are available to provide effective accommodation for the individual.
- Consult with the employee: Be sure to meet with the individual who filed the request to determine what type of accommodation is going to be best for their needs.
- Ask healthcare providers what they suggest: You may want to consider meeting with the employee’s healthcare provider to better understand their medical condition and limiations and how you can create a comfortable workplace for the individual.
- Decide the best accommodation: After reviewing all possible accommodations, choose the one that is most feasible and beneficial for the employee.
- Implement and monitor the accommodation: Once you’ve decided on the accommodation, implement and monitor the accommodation to ensure it’s still effective for the employee and make any necessary adjustments.

Reasonable Accommodations Made Simple: A Checklist for Compliance
Rather than waiting for someone to take legal action due to a lack of accommodation, take proactive steps to ensure these commonly requested ADA accommodations are included in both your physical and online spaces. Doing so can help reduce legal risk and create a more accessible experience for everyone.
Physical Accessibility Accommodations
- Entrances and pathways: Ensure ramps, elevators, automatic doors, and accessible pathways are available where needed.
- Seating and workstations: Provide adjustable desks and ergonomic seating options for employees.
- Restrooms and facilities: Install accessible stalls, grab bars, and clear signage.
- Signage and communication: Use braille signage and provide auditory guidance if necessary.
- Service animal access: Allow service animals in all public areas without restrictions.
- Emergency procedures: Implement accessible emergency exits and alert systems.
Digital Accessibility Accommodations
Your website, mobile applications, responsive mobile design, online documents, and other digital content should conform to the accessibility standards included in WCAG 2.1 Level AA. This includes providing accessibility features such as:
- Captions: Provide captions and transcripts for all video and audio content.
- Accessible documents: Ensure online documents and PDFs are screen-reader friendly.
- Assistive technology friendly: Support screen readers, text-to-speech software, screen magnifiers, keyboard commands and shortcuts, and other alternative input methods across your digital content.
- Alt text: Add descriptive alt text for all images and non-text elements.
- Color contrast: Maintain sufficient color contrast between text and background colors (4.5:1 for normal text as recommended by WCAG).
- Text resizing: Allow users to resize text without losing content or functionality.
- Form and button accessibility: Ensure all forms, buttons, and interactive elements are labeled appropriately.
These are just some WCAG success criteria your digital content should include. For a more detailed list, check out our Comprehensive WCAG Checklist.
Communication and Customer Support Accommodations
- Multiple contact methods: Offer phone, email, and accessible chat options to customers.
- ASL interpretation: If able, provide ASL interpretation or live captioning for meetings, webinars, and events.
- Alternative document formats: Offer large print, braille, and audio versions of key materials.
- Accessible training materials: Ensure all employee training resources are offered in an accessible format.
Workplace and Employment Accommodations
- Flexible work environments: Offer remote work options or modified work schedules for qualified employees.
- Accessible workplace software: Ensure internal tools and platforms are accessible.
- Reasonable equipment adjustments: Provide screen magnifiers, ergonomic keyboards, or other assistive devices.
- Inclusive hiring practices: Ensure job postings and application processes are accessible to all candidates.
Addressing these physical and digital accommodations not only helps you lower your legal risk but also helps you provide a more accessible workspace for employees and environment for customers.

How to Implement and Maintain Accessibility Compliance
Providing accessibility accommodations isn’t just about taking a box — it’s about ensuring individuals with disabilities have equal access to physical spaces, digital platforms, and workplaces.
The ADA legally requires organizations to offer reasonable accommodations to minimize undue hardship on individuals with disabillities, but maintaining compliance is an ongoing process. Regulations evolve, technology changes, and accessibility best practices continue to evolve. Proactively addressing accessibility not only reduces legal risk but also creates a more compliant and user-friendly user experience.
To ensure your organization maintains compliance and provides an accessible experience, follow these best practices:
- Conduct regular audits of both physical and digital spaces. Accessibility isn’t static — make sure you’re periodically reviewing your facilities, websites, mobile apps, and internal tools to fix barriers. Be sure you’re using automated and manual audits for digital spaces, as automation alone can’t find every accessibility issue. Manual audits are necessary for finding more complex accessibility issues. For example, AudioEye takes a three-pronged approach to accessibility, using AI-powered technology to find and fix common accessibility issues while our team of experts identifies more complex issues, helping you create more accessible and compliant digital experiences.
- Provide regular accessibility training. Employees, designers, developers, and customer service teams should be trained on ADA requirements, WCAG guidelines, and best practices around accessibility. Doing so empowers your entire organization to contribute to accessibility. AudioEyeQ, our best-in-class accessibility learning platform, is a great option for accessibility training and covers everything from ADA requirements to accessible design best practices.
- Stay up-to-date on accessibility requirements. Finally, ensure you and your team keep up with ADA requirements, WCAG updates, accessibility laws, and best practices. Regulations are constantly evolving — recent updates to Title II of the ADA just last year are proof of this — and a lack of awareness can put your organization at legal risk.
Put simply, making accessibility a continuous priority helps you stay compliant, avoid legal pitfalls, and create a more accessible experience for all.
Stay Compliant and Proactively Address Accessibility with AudioEye
By implementing reasonable ADA accommodations, you’re removing accessibility barriers in physical and online spaces that may prevent individuals with disabilities from fully accessing or participating in them. From providing barrier-free entrances and accessible seating to including alt text on images and captions on videos, the accessibility accommodations above help reduce the risk of lawsuits or expensive ADA compliance fines.
Meeting accessibility requirements can feel overwhelming, especially in online spaces. That’s where AudioEye comes in. With our Automated Accessibility Platform, creating accessible, ADA-compliant digital content is fast, easy, and cost-effective. From our free Web Accessibility Scanner that finds 30 WCAG success criteria (more than any other tool on the market) to our Expert Audits from accessibility experts and individuals from the disability community, we help you find and fix accessibility issues that put your organization at risk. Plus, with AudioEye Assurance, you’ll enjoy legal protection that’s 400% better than consulting or automation-only approaches alone.
Take the first step toward more accessible content with a free accessibility scan — just enter the URL into our Web Accessibility Scanner to get started.
Want to see how AudioEye streamlines your path to ADA compliance? Schedule a demo today.
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