Real-World Insights for Brave Workplaces: Beyond Disability Compliance

If you’re reading this, thank you. I deeply appreciate you being part of this community. This is the second issue of The Courage Quotient, my quarterly newsletter—and I’m so glad you’re here.

The Backyard

Welcome to The Backyard—a little corner of this newsletter where I step away from protocols and policies and share something a bit more personal.

Change

Back in 2018, my then-11-year-old walked onto that campus and decided it was where she would go. It didn’t matter that the acceptance rate was just over 5%, that it was one of the most expensive colleges in the U.S., or that it was all the way across the country—this was her dream. Her dad and I assumed she’d change her mind. We were wrong.

Maybe Gossip Girl played a role in keeping her dream alive (if you know you know), but her determination stuck. She loved the campus, she loved the “open curriculum,” and as she grew into an incredible volleyball player, she loved the coaches, too. She did it. She’s part of the Class of 2029.

This change has been consuming my thoughts. Not just the joy of seeing her dream come true, or the natural fears that come from your child living far from your watchful eye, but also the reflection it’s stirred in me about how opportunity, when passed on, can be healing.

I didn’t grow up in a home with expectations. College wasn’t discussed. There was no money for it. A meme might call it “free-range parenting,” but for me and my four siblings, it was more than just an ’80s experience. It was … difficult. A few of us found a way out, and I was one of them, thanks largely to my eighth-grade English teacher, Lynn Dyer.

Mrs. Dyer showed me what was possible: elite colleges, loving relationships, practical steps for how to succeed in school and in life. She believed in me when no one else had. She gave me rules to live by and planted the idea that I had potential. I clung to that, and I made it. I went to one of the top colleges in the U.S., flying across the country with some blind hope and barely enough money to cover semester 1 books.

College was hard. I was poor at a rich school. I was unsophisticated and often sad. But I worked an average of 50 hours a week while attending full-time classes. My jobs in food service and athletics became my support system. The adults I worked with gave me flexible shifts, summer job tips, and an unexpected sense of community.

What I didn’t realize until much later was how transformative it was to be surrounded by driven, diverse, and idealistic classmates. That exposure gave me confidence, curiosity, and the belief that I could figure most things out if I was willing to work hard. And the name of the school on my resume opened doors I didn’t even know existed. It’s not always fair, but it’s often true.

Which brings me back to privilege.

Privilege, in its simplest form, is defined as unearned advantages or benefits that individuals or groups receive due to their social identity or group membership.

Growing up as a white girl with a roof over my head, I already had advantages others didn’t. But going to a prestigious college changed how others saw me and how I saw myself.

I’m not discounting my effort, or anyone else’s. But I am recognizing the truth: that my education, and all the doors it opened, created a different reality for my kids.

My daughter’s path will look nothing like mine. She won’t have to work to pay for books or food. She won’t be cleaning dishes in the basement cafeteria. She won’t be drowning in student debt 15 years after graduation. There are trade-offs, of course. My real education came from those long work hours and the working-class adults who taught me about resilience, kindness, and hard work. That was my “secondary education,” and it shaped who I am. Her lessons will come differently.

Some people bristle when they hear the word “privilege.” I get that. It can feel like it erases the effort we’ve made. But privilege doesn’t negate hard work; it simply acknowledges the advantages that help make that work possible. My husband and I made choices to save, to plan, to say yes to this opportunity for our daughter—but we had something to save. We had choices. That’s privilege, too.

So how does this relate to HR?

This moment in my life has reminded me why our work matters so much. As HR professionals, we’re not just hiring employees. We’re offering people a path, sometimes a lifeline. And not just for them, but for the generations that come after them.

When someone gets access to a job, a stable paycheck, and a supportive workplace—it changes their life. But it also lays a foundation for their children and grandchildren. Whether it’s attending college, building financial stability, or simply believing they belong in certain spaces, that opportunity echoes.

The road my daughter is on was worn, at least a little, by me. Her journey required her own ambition and grit, but she had a faint map. And someday maybe her children will have an even clearer one.

That’s what we help create in HR. Not just inclusion at the table, but visibility of the path that leads to it.

I’ve left a piece of my heart 3,019 miles away. She’ll come home, but it won’t be the same. I won’t be the same. I hope the work I did, personally and professionally, gave her a better starting line.

And I hope we can all remember, in our roles, the extraordinary power we hold when we open the door for someone else.

Why Aren’t We Training Supervisors on ADA?

We require it for sexual harassment prevention.
We mandate it for safety compliance.
So … why not disability accommodation?

It’s a question more HR professionals are starting to ask, and it’s one we can’t ignore much longer.

Supervisors are often the first point of contact when something goes wrong—or when something could go right if it’s handled properly. Yet many have only a vague understanding of what the ADA requires of them. Instead of process, they rely on gut instincts. Instead of data, they lean on feelings, preferences, or unconscious bias. The result?

• Inconsistent handling of accommodation needs
• Delays in engaging the interactive process
• Increased risk of discriminatory behavior (even if unintentional)
• A harder job for HR, who has to come in after the fact and clean things up

We often ask supervisors to do better, but we rarely give them the tools or training to understand what “better” actually looks like.

When we train supervisors on how and when to engage HR, how to spot potential triggers under the law, and most importantly how to check their personal preferences at the door, we make the process smoother, faster, and more equitable for everyone involved.

ADA compliance becomes less of a reactive scramble … and more of a sustainable, proactive practice.

So how do you do this?

First decide what’s feasible for your organization:

Live training?

Can you attach a 30-minute ADA compliance supervisor training to an existing training day already on the books?

Live training is the most difficult to orchestrate, but it gives you the best learning environment. Science shows we retain more information when we’re present, when we’re in person, and—let’s be honest—when there are snacks. (Okay, maybe that last part is just my theory, but I know I’m right. It’s just underfunded science.)

Video training?

Can you gather your supervisors for a live Zoom session and allow for Q&A afterward? While not perfect, getting folks together, even virtually, is a win. Bonus if you can request cameras on.

Recorded, on-demand training?

If live just isn’t doable, or you want a way to include those who can’t attend live due to schedules, vacations, illness, or shift work, record the training and make it available on demand. It’s a great supplement to a live session.

Zoom quality is perfectly fine; don’t overthink it. There are even new settings to adjust the ratio of your face to slides. These recordings become invaluable onboarding tools for new supervisors and promoted staff.

What do you train on?

I LOVE training. I love getting in front of a group, letting the content guide the flow, and letting the audience shape the experience with their questions and stories. But I know not everyone feels that way. Coming up with training content can be daunting.

Here’s what I’ll offer:

Do it.

Just do it.

You will get more comfortable each time you deliver a training. I wish I had a video of the very first training I did back in 1999. It was terrible. I finished 20 minutes early. I was so embarrassed I swore off training … until I did it again. And again. Flash forward, and now it’s the part of my job I enjoy the most. (Yes, I still get nervous—especially with new content or unfamiliar audiences who haven’t yet realized how hilarious I am.)

Start simple. Put together a few slides on what the ADA is, what your interactive process programming entails, and why this work matters. Use scenarios.

For example: “Let’s say you’re a custodial supervisor. An employee returns with a permanent restriction of ‘no heavy lifting.’ Can we accommodate that?”

Let the group talk it through. They’ll each define “heavy” differently. That’s your opening: Explain how supervisors shouldn’t be guessing—and why HR’s job is to clarify limitations with medical data. We’re not here to lower standards, but we are also not going to under-accommodate. We’re here to ensure that informed decisions are made, every time.

Help supervisors understand what is their role and what is not. Focus on these key principles:

1. Know when the ADA is triggered and notify HR within 24 hours.
2. Be consistent—don’t refer only the “hard” cases to HR.
3. Advocate for reasonable accommodations that help employees fully and safely perform essential job functions.
4. Don’t advocate for unreasonable accommodations just because you “like” the employee.
5. Never informally accommodate long- or short-term limitations (like removing job duties).
6. If an employee discloses a disability that’s affecting their performance, pause any performance management and refer to HR immediately.

Build your training around these six key messages. You can always adapt them to fit your culture and your language, but this foundation works—and it works well.

Now, do you need someone to do this training for you?

Nope. I know you can do it. And your voice might be the one that resonates most in your organization.

But if you’re looking to outsource the delivery, or even just collaborate on designing a training you’ll deliver internally, I’d be honored to partner with you.

Email me at rachel@rachelshaw.com
Or book a time to connect: Schedule a training exploration call

Let’s make your supervisor team part of the solution—before the process gets difficult.

My Voice

The past few months have been full of meaningful conversations around disability accommodation, inclusion, and the real-world challenges HR professionals face. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to several platforms that are helping to elevate these important topics.

Forbes 📰 Rethinking Inclusion, ADA, Neurodiversity & Roles in the Workplace

I was honored to contribute to this piece exploring how organizations can move beyond compliance and toward meaningful inclusion. 👉 Read the full article

Conflict Managed Podcast 🎙️

Host Merry Brown and I dove into the conflict that’s often baked into the ADA interactive process—and what we can do to make that process less painful, more productive, and more human.

👉 Watch the conversation here or listen to the episode here.

@Work Magazine 📝

I recently had two articles published in @Work that explore two critical (and sometimes controversial) areas of disability compliance:

• Redefining Essential Functions
• Why Work-from-Home Requests Are Killing HR Practitioners’ Souls—And How to Stop It

These pieces reflect the real struggles many of us are facing—and how we can start to shift the conversation.

Training Resources:

Free On-Demand Training 🎥
Looking for a fresh perspective on disability inclusion and compliance? Watch The Disabled Workforce: ADA Disability Interactive Process – It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard, my free training designed to provide practical solutions to do this important work well.  👉 Watch now

In-Person ADA Boot Camp 📍
Join me for an immersive, luxury training experience in Westlake Village, California, designed for professionals ready to lead ADA compliance with confidence. Upcoming dates:

• October 7–9, 2025
• March 17–19, 2026

Learn more

🏢 Bring Rachel to You

Have a larger team? Want to build organization-wide confidence in disability compliance? I offer customized on-site or virtual ADA training tailored to your unique policies, culture, and challenges. Whether it’s supervisors, HR, or your executive team—I’ll work with you to build the right program.

👉 Book a consultation

Let’s Connect

Got a question? Want to talk through a tricky issue? Curious about training options for your team? I’d love to connect.

📧 Email me at rachel@rachelshaw.com
📅 Or grab a time that works for you: Book a discovery call

Thank you for the work you do, and for having the courage it takes to do it well.

Until next time,

Rachel