When you don't qualify for FMLA at Amazon, leave can be an accommodation
If a qualifying disability is involved, the ADA can support leave as a reasonable accommodation regardless of how long you've worked. A state-licensed provider completes and signs the exact DLS (Amazon's Disability and Leave Services) form after a real review.
Published by Certicare — an independent paid service, not affiliated with Amazon. Amazon makes the final decision on leave requests.
Start my intakeI'm not eligible for FMLA at Amazon — can I still take leave?
Yes, often. FMLA is one path, and it isn't the only one. Under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), which applies to employers with 15 or more employees, leave can be a reasonable accommodation even when you're not FMLA-eligible or have already used up your FMLA.
These protections come from having a disability under the ADA, not from how long you've worked, so the under-12-months and 1,250-hour tests don't apply here. Amazon still makes the decision, and we can't promise the answer. What a state-licensed provider does is complete the DLS form itself — the step that stalls when no clinician will fill it out.
What documentation does DLS need for leave as an accommodation?
When your disability or your need for leave isn't obvious, Amazon can ask for reasonable documentation of it, including how long it's expected to last. Usually that means the Leave as an Accommodation form completed by a state-licensed provider, not a plain sick note. Using the DLS form is often the clearest way to provide every item requested and reduce follow-up.
You answer a short online questionnaire — no video visit, no appointment to book. A state-licensed provider reviews your answers, then completes and signs the exact form DLS sent you. If DLS replies that your documentation is insufficient, that usually means an entry is missing, vague, or nonresponsive, or a generic document arrived in place of what was asked for.
A Physician Statement or RFI is DLS asking for more information, and it can follow any request. The fee is $49 flat, shown before you start and refunded if the form can't be completed, and the completed form comes by email, usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed. Follow-up like that is handled at no additional charge.
Secure online intake. Your information is reviewed by Certicare and is not sent to Amazon without your authorization.
How does DLS process a leave-as-an-accommodation request?
Open a case first, in A to Z or by phone through DLS. DLS replies with what it needs and a deadline. Go by the deadline in your DLS message, not by what a forum thread remembers.
From there, the request runs on whichever track fits (FMLA, a medical LOA, or an accommodation), and those can overlap, so you don't have to name it yourself. Get the provider-completed form in before your case's cutoff — in worker threads, the cases that stall are often the ones still waiting on paperwork. We can also send it directly to DLS after you complete an authorization.
Amazon makes the final decision on the request, and we can't promise the outcome. A state-licensed provider's part is the form itself, completed to what DLS asked for — not the decision.
$49 covers this request: clinical review, the DLS form it needs, and any DLS verification, clarification, or corrections on that form — no additional charges. A later extension, return-to-work form, new condition, or other additional form is a separate request with its own fee. If your form hasn't been delivered yet, you can request a full refund.
Certicare is not affiliated with Amazon. Amazon makes the final decision on leave and accommodation requests. This page is general information about the leave process, not legal advice.
Sources: U.S. EEOC and U.S. Department of Labor. Last reviewed July 2026.
What is "Leave as an Accommodation," and how is it different from FMLA?
Leave as an Accommodation is a real DLS form, and it's also a legal route. That route comes from the ADA. When a qualifying disability keeps you from working for a period, time off can be a reasonable accommodation — though Amazon may instead offer another accommodation that meets the need, like a schedule change.
The difference from FMLA is where the right comes from. FMLA turns on tenure and hours; ADA accommodation turns on having a qualifying disability and a need for leave, with no minimum time on the job. Like FMLA leave, it can be unpaid, unless Amazon's own paid-leave policy covers part of it.
I've worked less than a year (or under 1,250 hours) — do I have options?
Yes. The ADA sets no minimum length of service and no minimum hours worked — the opposite of FMLA, which needs 12 months plus 1,250 hours. Being one month short of FMLA, or a few hundred hours short, doesn't close off leave as an accommodation.
For context, 1,250 hours is a little over 24 hours actually worked per week, and PTO and leave time generally don't count toward it. That test matters for FMLA. It doesn't gate an accommodation request, which rests on your medical situation instead.
How long can leave as an accommodation last?
There's no fixed maximum set by the ADA. The length is decided case by case, based on what your condition needs and how long it's expected to last. That's why the form asks for an expected duration rather than a set number of weeks.
Two honest limits. Open-ended, indefinite leave generally isn't required, and Amazon can deny leave that would be an undue hardship. When leave as an accommodation is granted, it generally includes returning to your original position afterward, within those same limits.
Founded by someone who's been there
Rebecca Martel, APRN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner who has completed hundreds of these forms. As a neurodivergent person who lost jobs to cyclical burnout early in her career, she knows what's at stake when paperwork stalls.
You don't have to figure out whether it's FMLA, LOA, or an accommodation. Complete your intake and we'll work from the form DLS sent.
Start my intakeCerticare is not affiliated with Amazon. Amazon makes the final decision on leave and accommodation requests. This page is general information about the leave process, not legal advice.