| Course | HR420 Workplace Law, Labor Relations, and HR Risk Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Accommodation process memo |
| Length | About 800 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration (Human Resources) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HR420 Unit 4
A Remark on a Shift-Swap Form: A Unit 4 Accommodation Process Memo for a Pay Lane Greeter
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HR420: Workplace Law, Labor Relations, and HR Risk Management
Unit 4 Accommodation Process Memo
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Wapsi Valley Car Wash, its staff and every date and cost are composite and illustrative; the statute, regulations and guidance cited are real.
Memo to the Personnel File
Re: Reasonable accommodation process, pay lane greeter, Marion site. Period covered: March 3 to March 21. Prepared by: Human resources.
1. The Request
On March 3 the greeter submitted a shift-swap form asking to trade a Saturday double shift. In the comments box she wrote that her multiple sclerosis makes standing difficult by the second half of a long day. The site manager forwarded the form to human resources the same afternoon.
The comment was treated as a request for reasonable accommodation. A request does not need to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act or use the word accommodation; plain words linking a needed change at work to a medical condition are enough (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2002). Human resources contacted her on March 4 to begin the interactive process.
2. Documentation
Human resources asked for documentation limited to two points: confirmation of the condition and a description of the functional limitation relevant to the request. The greeter provided a note from her neurologist on March 10 confirming multiple sclerosis and stating that prolonged standing beyond about four hours causes fatigue and leg weakness. No diagnosis details beyond that were requested.
The note is kept in a separate confidential medical file, not in this personnel file, as the regulations require for medical information obtained from employees (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011). This memo refers to it but does not attach it.
3. The Meeting, March 14
Present: the greeter, the site manager and the human resources generalist.
Limitation in her own words. She can stand comfortably for about four hours. After that her legs tire and she becomes unsteady, which worries her most when she is guiding cars onto the conveyor.
Essential functions reviewed. Against the job description: greeting drivers at the pay lane, selling memberships, taking payment and guiding cars onto the conveyor. Selling and payment are done at a fixed station. Guiding cars requires short walks of about fifteen feet, about twice an hour.
Options discussed.
A stool at the pay station, so she can sit while selling and taking payment and stand to guide cars.
Removal from double shifts, so no shift exceeds eight hours.
Reassignment to the membership support desk at the central office, considered only if neither of the first two worked.
The memo shows the options were discussed with her, in order, with reassignment held back as the last resort rather than offered first.
4. Decision
The first two options were adopted on March 18. A stool rated for the pay station's counter height was ordered at a cost of $189 and installed March 20. Her schedule was changed to single shifts of no more than eight hours, with the same total weekly hours. Neither change affects any essential function: she still greets, sells, takes payment and guides cars. Reassignment was not needed.
Under the statute, a covered employer must accommodate the known limitations of a qualified employee with a disability, with undue hardship as the only defense (Americans with Disabilities Act, 2018). A $189 stool and a schedule change are not a hardship for a company of this size.
5. Follow-Up
Check-in date. April 18, thirty days after the decision. The generalist will ask whether the stool and schedule are working and whether anything has changed.
Instructions to the site manager. The schedule change must hold when the site is short-staffed. If a double shift seems necessary, the manager must contact human resources first. Coworkers who ask about the stool are told only that it is an approved workplace arrangement.
6. What the Process Avoided
Two easier responses were available and both would have been wrong. The site manager could have approved the shift swap and said nothing more, treating the remark as a scheduling preference; that would have left the limitation unaddressed and the request unrecorded. Or he could have moved her to the central office desk at once, which would have removed her from a job she can do with a stool. The interactive process exists to find the change that keeps a qualified employee in her own job, and reassignment is reserved for when no such change works.
7. Record of the Process
Request received March 3. Interactive process began March 4. Documentation received March 10. Meeting March 14. Decision March 18. Accommodation in place March 20. Total time from request to accommodation: seventeen days.
References
Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ยงยง 12101-12213 (2018).
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2002). Enforcement guidance on reasonable accommodation and undue hardship under the Americans with Disabilities Act (No. 915.002). https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-reasonable-accommodation-and-undue-hardship-under-ada
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011). Regulations to implement the equal employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (29 C.F.R. Part 1630). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/part-1630
What the HR420 Unit 4 assignment asks for
The fourth HR420 assignment is a memo to the personnel file that documents an accommodation process from first remark to decision. Head it with the dates covered. Explain why the employee's words counted as a request, citing guidance. Record what documentation was requested and why it was limited, and where medical information is kept. Summarize the meeting: the limitation in the employee's own words, the essential functions reviewed against the job description and the options discussed in order. State the decision, its cost and why it is not an undue hardship. Set a follow-up date and instructions for the manager. Note what the process avoided. End with a dated record of each step. Cite the statute, regulations and guidance. About three pages, written as a dated memo to the personnel file, is common.
How this HR420 Unit 4 example is built
The sample memo treats a comment on a shift-swap form as a request, citing EEOC guidance, with a margin note. Documentation is limited to the condition and its effect on standing, and the note is kept in a separate confidential file under the regulations. The meeting summary records her four-hour standing limit, the four essential functions and three options, and the highlighted sentence explains the order. The stool and single shifts are adopted, with a margin note on cost and hardship. Follow-up on April 18, instructions for the site manager, a section on what the process avoided and a dated record totaling seventeen days complete it.
Reading the HR420 Unit 4 grading rubric
The HR420 accommodation memo is graded on whether it documents a lawful, timely process. Recognizing a request made in plain words earns credit. Documentation requests should be limited to what is needed, with medical information kept separately. The meeting summary should record the limitation, the essential functions and the options in order. Holding reassignment as a last resort shows understanding of the law. The decision should state its cost and address undue hardship. A follow-up date and manager instructions show the process continues. A dated record shows timeliness. The statute, the disability regulations and the agency guidance each belong in the references, cited in APA 7 legal form, with the medical note referred to but never attached.
HR420 Unit 4 help from the desk
Many HR420 accommodation memos begin only when an employee uses the word accommodation. Others request full medical records or file them in the personnel file. Students often skip the essential functions review or offer reassignment first. Decisions are recorded without cost or hardship analysis. Follow-up is missing. Dates are vague, so timeliness cannot be shown. Recognize the request, limit documentation, keep medical files separate, record the meeting in detail, review essential functions, discuss options in order, state cost and hardship, set follow-up and date every step. Tell us the employee's request and the job's duties, and our team can help document each step of the process.
Get an HR420 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Where the Unit 4 prompt supplies an employee, a limitation and a job, those details plus the rubric are enough for the sample. A memo comes back in 24-48h, dated step by step, with the options weighed and the decision tied to the job's essential functions. The first request costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HR420 Unit 4 questions, answered
Can the employer choose a different accommodation than the one requested?
Yes, if the alternative is effective. The employer has discretion to choose among options that allow the employee to perform the essential functions, and it need not provide the exact arrangement the employee prefers. The example records the agent's preference, the option chosen and why it works, which is the reasoning a grader looks for in this memo.
Why is multiple sclerosis treated as a disability so briefly?
Since the ADA Amendments Act, EEOC regulations list multiple sclerosis among impairments that will, in virtually all cases, substantially limit neurological function. The memo notes that in a sentence and spends its length on the process. If your scenario involves a condition that is less clearly covered, that step deserves real attention in your own paper.
Where can I find a free HR420 Unit 4 sample paper?
A complete HR420 Unit 4 accommodation process memo is on this page, documenting a greeter's request from a remark on a shift-swap form to a decision.
Did the greeter have to ask for an accommodation by name?
No. A request can be made in plain words that link a needed change at work to a medical condition, without mentioning the law or the word accommodation.
Why is reassignment the last option?
Reassignment moves an employee out of a job she can still do. The process looks first for a change that keeps her in her own role, such as a stool or a schedule.