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Federal Telework Accommodation: Build Your Record

awol risk federal employment law federal telework reasonable accommodation rehabilitation act Feb 24, 2026

When telework is questioned, the greatest risk often is not the policy memo. It is the record being created—quietly—while trying to get through the week.

In federal employment law, disputes are won and lost on documentation. If a telework arrangement turns into a reasonable accommodation denial, AWOL charge, or performance attack, decision-makers will examine what is in writing. Below is a five-part paper trail that GS employees should begin building immediately.

1. Define the Workplace Barrier—With Specifics

Vague statements do not carry legal weight. “The office worsens my symptoms” is not enough.

Instead, identify the specific workplace condition that blocks performance of essential duties. Document dates, locations, and functional impact. For example: noise levels in an open-plan office triggering panic symptoms within 30 minutes, leading to missed deadlines on particular days.

The legal question in accommodation cases is whether a workplace barrier prevents performance of essential functions. Specific facts answer that question. General frustration does not.

2. Establish the Nexus Between Telework and Performance

Telework is not granted because it is preferred. It is granted when it removes a barrier tied to a medical limitation.

This is the “nexus” sentence: explain plainly how telework eliminates the trigger and allows full performance. Medical documentation should focus on functional limitations and workplace impact—not an employee’s entire medical history.

Agencies are required to engage in an individualized assessment. A clear nexus forces that analysis.

3. Clarify Your Essential Functions

Pull the position description, performance plan, and written expectations. Reduce essential duties to a concise list.

Then scrutinize claims like “face-to-face supervision” or “team collaboration.” Essential for what specific function? If core duties are case review, written analysis, client communication, and meeting deadlines—and those have been successfully performed while teleworking—that matters.

Under the Rehabilitation Act, essential functions are the anchor of the analysis. Precision here prevents agencies from redefining the job mid-dispute.

4. Preserve Performance Proof

Unsupported assumptions that telework reduces productivity are common. Evidence defeats assumptions.

Save ratings, production metrics, completed work product, deadline confirmations, and positive feedback from telework periods. Organized performance proof can be the difference between a neutral fact pattern and a winning one.

In litigation or an EEOC hearing, documentation carries more weight than argument.

5. Keep a Detailed Timeline Log

This is often the most decisive element. Record dates of requests, responses, documentation provided, follow-ups, and delays.

If an agency repeatedly asks for new documentation or fails to respond for weeks, that record may demonstrate a breakdown in the interactive process. Delays can function as constructive denials. A clean, dated log makes that visible.

The Mindful Perspective: Build, Don’t React

When telework is challenged, someone is building the record. The choice is whether that record reflects clarity and professionalism—or confusion and gaps.

Calm, structured documentation is not adversarial. It is protective.

For a deeper, step-by-step framework, a detailed telework accommodation guide is available through the firm’s resources page. When telework is rescinded, AWOL is threatened, or the interactive process stalls, early legal guidance can prevent long-term damage.

Legal Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. While I am a federal employment attorney, this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is unique, and legal outcomes depend on specific facts and circumstances.

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