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- Written by: Mo Eldessouky — California employment trial lawyer and founder of Eldessouky Law; recognized in the Top 10 Labor & Employment Verdicts in California (2024) for his role in securing a $34.7M defamation and wrongful termination verdict against Walmart; with over a decade of proven results in cases involving harassment, discrimination, wage & hour, and other workplace violations
- Focus: Practical guidance based on California law and real case outcomes
- Recognized by: Eldessouky Law has been featured in major news publications such as USA Today and CBS News for our commitment to protecting California employees and securing significant legal victories
- Last updated: November 2025
“HR Stopped Responding, and Then I Was Let Go”
We regularly hear from employees who describe the same pattern:
“I gave them my doctor’s note, they said they would ‘review options’…and then everything went quiet. Months later, I got a termination letter.”
Under California law, this isn’t just bad communication. It may be a violation of one of the core duties employers have toward employees with disabilities: the interactive process.
What Is the Interactive Process?
The interactive process is a required, two-way conversation between employer and employee aimed at finding reasonable accommodations for a known disability.
Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employers must:
- Respond to requests for accommodation in a timely way,
- Request reasonable medical documentation when necessary, and
- Work with the employee to explore accommodations that would allow them to perform the essential functions of the job.
This is not a one-time form or a single email. It’s an ongoing, good-faith dialogue. For more detail on how California views this obligation, see Eldessouky Law’s page on the interactive process.
What a Healthy Interactive Process Looks Like
When done correctly, the interactive process usually involves:
- Clear communication. HR or your manager acknowledges your request and explains what information they need.
- Exchange of medical information. You provide relevant restrictions (not your entire medical history), often through a doctor’s note or form.
- Discussion of job duties. The employer identifies essential functions and where your restrictions create conflict.
- Exploration of options. Together, you consider accommodations such as modified duties, schedule changes, assistive devices, or temporary leave.
- Follow-up. The employer evaluates whether accommodations are working and adjusts as needed.
Red Flags That the Process Has Broken Down
Unfortunately, many employers either don’t understand or don’t respect these obligations. Signs that the interactive process is breaking down include:
- Silence from HR. Your emails go unanswered for weeks or months.
- One-way communication. The employer sends ultimatums (“Return full duty by X date or resign”) instead of discussing options.
- Refusal to consider your doctor’s note. They dismiss restrictions without seeking clarification.
- Sudden termination or “job elimination.” You’re let go without a meaningful exploration of accommodations.
How This Connects to Disability Discrimination
Under FEHA, failing to engage in the interactive process is itself a separate violation from failing to accommodate. That means an employer can be liable for:
- Failure to accommodate your disability, and
- Failure to engage in the interactive process in good faith.
To learn more about how California law protects employees with disabilities, review Eldessouky Law’s resource on disability discrimination and related accommodations requirements.
How Medical Leave and the Interactive Process Work Together
Employees with serious health conditions often move between:
- Time off under laws like FMLA or CFRA,
- Return to work with restrictions, and
- Requests for ongoing accommodations or extensions of leave.
The end of protected leave does not end the employer’s duty to engage in the interactive process. Instead, the focus shifts from leave duration to what accommodations are now reasonable under FEHA.
What You Can Do If Your Employer Stops Talking
If your employer is ignoring your accommodation requests or letting the process stall, consider the following:
- Follow up in writing. Politely restate your request, attach your doctor’s note, and ask for a meeting to discuss accommodations.
- Keep a record of timelines. Note when you submitted documents, who you spoke with, and when responses (if any) came.
- Avoid resigning out of frustration, if you can. Quitting can complicate your case; talk to a lawyer before making that decision.
- Consult with an attorney. An employment lawyer can evaluate whether the interactive process has broken down in a way that violates FEHA.
Talk to a California Interactive Process and Accommodation Lawyer
If you’ve hit a wall trying to get your employer to discuss accommodations, you’re not alone—and you’re not without rights.
To better understand how the interactive process should work and what to do when it doesn’t, review Eldessouky Law’s page on the interactive process, along with our broader resources on disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation.
If your employer has gone quiet—or jumped straight to termination—you may have a legal claim.
Contact Eldessouky Law for a free consultation. Call 213-788-7887 or reach out through our contact page. We help employees across California when employers treat the interactive process like a formality instead of the lifeline it’s meant to be.
