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An employee's doctor releases him to return after shoulder surgery with a 20-pound lifting limit for six weeks. The plant manager says he can't come back until he's "full duty." In the same week a letter goes out to another employee: her 12 weeks of leave are used up, and her employment ends Friday.
Both decisions were made by policy, with no one looking at the individual. A 100% healed policy and an automatic maximum-leave termination rule have the same flaw under the ADA: they skip the individualized question of whether this person can do this job with a reasonable accommodation. This article explains the EEOC's position, where the courts agree and disagree, and how to rewrite both policies.
What Is a 100% Healed Policy?
It is any rule, written or unwritten, that an employee may return from medical leave only with a full-duty release and no restrictions. It appears under several names: "no restrictions," "full duty only," and "no light duty for non-work injuries."
The EEOC's position is stated in its 2016 resource Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is still posted on eeoc.gov:
An employer will violate the ADA if it requires an employee with a disability to have no medical restrictions—that is, be "100%" healed or recovered—if the employee can perform her job with or without reasonable accommodation unless the employer can show providing the needed accommodations would cause an undue hardship.
The reasoning comes from the statute. The ADA protects a "qualified individual," defined as a person who can perform the essential functions of the position "with or without reasonable accommodation" (42 U.S.C. § 12111(8)). A full-duty rule asks only about "without." It also operates as a qualification standard that screens out people with disabilities, which must be job-related and consistent with business necessity (42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(6); 29 C.F.R. § 1630.10(a)).
The EEOC's example: a clerk is released after 16 weeks of leave with a 20-pound lifting restriction. The job's essential and marginal functions do not require lifting 20 pounds. Refusing to let him return violates the ADA, because he can do the job and poses no direct threat. The employer may still deny a specific accommodation that would cause undue hardship.
"But it's a safety issue"
The EEOC addresses this directly. An employer violates the ADA if it claims an employee with restrictions poses a safety risk but cannot show the individual is a direct threat. That requires an individualized assessment of a significant risk of substantial harm that accommodation cannot eliminate or reduce (29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(r)). See our article on the ADA direct threat standard.
What the employer may do
Rejecting a full-duty rule does not mean accepting every doctor's note as written. According to the EEOC's leave resource, when an employee returns with restrictions the employer may ask why the restrictions are needed and how long they will last, and may explore possible accommodations with the employee and the provider. If the employee cannot perform an essential function even with accommodation, the employer does not have to remove that function. That is why the starting point is a sound analysis of ADA essential functions and job descriptions.
Light duty is a related point. In Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, discussed below, the Seventh Circuit quoted EEOC guidance stating that an employer need not create a light-duty position for a non-occupationally injured employee, but that an employer with a policy of creating light-duty positions for occupational injuries ordinarily must extend that benefit to an employee with a disability unless it can show undue hardship. See managing modified duty and accommodation together.
Maximum-Leave Policies
A maximum-leave policy, sometimes called a "no-fault" leave policy, ends employment automatically when leave reaches a set limit: 12 weeks, six months, a year. The EEOC notes that these policies also take the form of caps on unplanned absences.
The EEOC does not say such policies are unlawful to have. Its leave resource says employees with disabilities are not exempt from them as a general rule. The problem is automatic application. In the agency's words, such policies "may have to be modified as a reasonable accommodation for absences related to a disability, unless the employer can show that doing so would cause undue hardship." The 2002 reasonable accommodation guidance says the same about no-fault leave policies, and adds that an employee granted leave as an accommodation is entitled to return to the same position unless holding it open would be an undue hardship.
Other points from the EEOC's leave resource:
- An employer must consider unpaid leave as an accommodation even when the employee has used up leave under the FMLA, workers' compensation, or the employer's plan.
- Compliance with the FMLA does not necessarily satisfy the ADA, and the fact that leave exceeds the FMLA entitlement is not by itself undue hardship.
- The employer may count leave already taken when it assesses hardship.
- Indefinite leave, where the employee cannot say whether or when they will return, is an undue hardship and does not have to be provided.
- Form letters that tell employees to return by a date or be terminated should tell them to ask as soon as possible if they need more leave as an accommodation. Third-party administrators should forward those requests to HR and not terminate until HR has engaged in the interactive process.
For the hardship analysis, see ADA undue hardship. For attendance point systems, see no-fault attendance policies and protected leave.
What EEOC Enforcement Has Looked Like
These are settlements of EEOC lawsuits as described in the agency's press releases. They resolve allegations and are not court findings of liability.
| Employer (release date) | Policy the EEOC challenged | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lowe's (May 2016) | Terminating employees whose medical leaves exceeded a 180-day, later 240-day, maximum | $8.6 million |
| UPS (August 2017) | Automatically terminating employees who reached 12 months of leave, without the interactive process | $2 million |
| Corizon Health (May 2019) | Refusing to accommodate employees who exhausted leave, and requiring employees to be 100% healed or without restrictions | $950,000 |
| Dunkin' Donuts franchisees, The Daly/Kenney Group and related companies (June 2026) | Placing employees with medical restrictions on unpaid, indefinite leave under a "100% healed" practice | $250,000 |
What the Courts Say: A Real Split on Extended Leave
On 100% healed rules there is little disagreement with the EEOC's logic, because it tracks the statutory definition of a qualified individual. On leave, the EEOC's position is not the law everywhere. The federal appeals courts disagree about whether a long block of leave can be a reasonable accommodation at all.
| Court | Case | What it held |
|---|---|---|
| Seventh Circuit | Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., 872 F.3d 476 (7th Cir. 2017) | A multimonth leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation |
| Tenth Circuit | Hwang v. Kansas State University, 753 F.3d 1159 (10th Cir. 2014) | An employer almost never must allow more than six months' leave; a six-month cap is not discriminatory merely because it is inflexible |
| First Circuit | García-Ayala v. Lederle Parenterals, Inc., 212 F.3d 638 (1st Cir. 2000) | Per se rules are disfavored; extra leave beyond a one-year policy was required where the employer showed no hardship |
| Sixth Circuit | Cehrs v. Northeast Ohio Alzheimer's Research Center, 155 F.3d 775 (6th Cir. 1998) | No presumption that uninterrupted attendance is an essential job requirement; medical leave can be a reasonable accommodation |
| Ninth Circuit | Nunes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 164 F.3d 1243 (9th Cir. 1999) | Even an extended medical leave may be a reasonable accommodation if it does not pose an undue hardship |
The Seventh Circuit
Raymond Severson used 12 weeks of FMLA leave for a back condition, had surgery on the last day, and asked for two to three more months. The employer terminated him and invited him to reapply. The court affirmed judgment for the employer, writing that "the ADA is an antidiscrimination statute, not a medical-leave entitlement" and that an employee who needs long-term medical leave cannot work and so is not a qualified individual. The EEOC filed a brief supporting the employee, and the court rejected its reading. It did leave room for short leave: intermittent time off or "a couple of days or even a couple of weeks" may be a reasonable accommodation in appropriate circumstances. The Seventh Circuit covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
The Tenth Circuit
Hwang arose under the Rehabilitation Act, which the court analyzed using ADA accommodation concepts. A professor had six months of paid leave for cancer treatment and asked for more. The court held that six months was "more than sufficient to comply with the Act in nearly any case." It added that inflexible policies are not immune: one with an unreasonably short leave period may fail, and so may one that is waived for others but enforced against employees with disabilities.
The case-by-case circuits
In García-Ayala, an employee on leave past the employer's one-year job reservation period asked for less than two more months. The employer offered no evidence of hardship and had been filling her job with temporary workers. The First Circuit entered judgment for the employee and called these "difficult, fact intensive, case-by-case analyses, ill-served by per se rules." Cehrs and Nunes take a similar approach; both reversed summary judgment for the employer.
What they agree on
Indefinite leave with no expected return is not required. Brief or intermittent leave can be a reasonable accommodation. The dispute is over the middle: a defined block of several months after other leave is exhausted.
This area continues to develop. Check for newer decisions and confirm the current rule in each circuit where you have employees before relying on any of these cases.
What the split means for a multi-state employer
- A policy that is defensible in Wisconsin may not be in Massachusetts or California. Write for your most demanding jurisdiction.
- The EEOC investigates charges nationwide under its own guidance, whatever the local circuit has held.
- State disability laws may require more than the ADA. Check state law in each state where you have employees.
Rewriting the Policies
Replace the full-duty rule with a process
Sample language to adapt with counsel:
Employees returning from medical leave must provide a release describing any work restrictions and their expected duration. An employee released with restrictions will not be denied return to work on that basis alone. Human Resources will review the restrictions against the essential functions of the position and work with the employee to determine whether a reasonable accommodation is available.
Keep the leave limit, remove the automatic termination
Sample language:
Leave under this policy is available for up to [number] weeks. An employee who is unable to return at the end of that period should contact Human Resources before the leave ends. The Company will consider whether additional leave or another reasonable accommodation is available under applicable law. Employment will not end solely because the maximum leave period has been reached until that review is complete.
Run the same sequence every time
- Before leave runs out, contact the employee and ask about return status.
- If more leave is requested, obtain documentation of the amount needed, the reason, and the expected return date.
- If the employee is released with restrictions, compare them with the essential functions and discuss accommodations.
- Consider alternatives to more leave: a part-time or modified schedule, temporary restructuring of marginal duties, or reassignment to a vacant position the employee is qualified for.
- If you conclude the leave would be an undue hardship, document the specific operational facts.
- Have HR, not the supervisor or a vendor, make the final decision.
Our articles on what to do when employees exhaust their leave, when the ADA extends beyond FMLA leave, and transitioning from FMLA leave to ADA accommodation cover each stage. The Leave and Accommodation Management course lists "no 100% healed or full duty policies" and avoiding indefinite leave among its learning objectives and works through them with case studies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are 100% healed policies illegal?
The EEOC's position is that an employer violates the ADA if it requires an employee with a disability to have no medical restrictions when the employee can perform the job with or without reasonable accommodation, unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship.
Can we require a full-duty release before an employee returns?
You can require a release that states any restrictions. You should not refuse return solely because restrictions exist. Compare the restrictions with the essential functions and consider accommodation. Separate FMLA fitness-for-duty rules may also apply.
Is it legal to terminate an employee when FMLA leave runs out?
Not automatically. The EEOC says exhausting FMLA leave does not end the ADA analysis; additional unpaid leave may be a reasonable accommodation unless it causes undue hardship. Some courts, including the Seventh Circuit, hold that a multimonth extension is not a reasonable accommodation. The answer depends on the facts and the jurisdiction.
Do we have to grant indefinite leave?
No. The EEOC states that indefinite leave, where the employee cannot say whether or when they will return, is an undue hardship, and the courts cited here agree that open-ended leave is not required.
The Bottom Line
Leave limits and return-to-work standards are lawful to have. Applying them automatically is where the risk lies. A full-duty rule ignores accommodation, and an automatic termination date ignores the individual. Add an individualized review to each policy, document what you find, and know which circuit's law applies to you. This article is general education, not legal advice; have counsel review policy language before you adopt it.
The ADA Accommodation Guide, the ADA FAQs, and the Leave Management Checklist cover the surrounding process, and our article on when leave becomes a reasonable accommodation goes deeper on the leave analysis. To practice these decisions across the FMLA, ADA, workers' compensation, and state law, see the two-day Leave and Accommodation Management course.
