Cindy Edwards v. Wellstar Medical Group, LLC ( 2022 )


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  • USCA11 Case: 20-13866     Date Filed: 07/29/2022    Page: 1 of 19
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eleventh Circuit
    ____________________
    No. 20-13866
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ____________________
    CINDY EDWARDS,
    Plaintiff-Appellant,
    versus
    WELLSTAR MEDICAL GROUP, LLC,
    Defendant-Appellee.
    ____________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Georgia
    D.C. Docket No. 1:18-cv-04492-MHC
    ____________________
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 2 of 19
    2                      Opinion of the Court                20-13866
    Before WILSON, LUCK, and LAGOA, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Cindy Edwards appeals the district court’s summary judg-
    ment for WellStar Medical Group on her claim that the company
    failed to accommodate her disability, in violation of the Americans
    with Disabilities Act. After a thorough review of the record and
    the parties’ briefs, we affirm.
    FACTUAL BACKGROUND
    Edwards joined WellStar in 2013 as an “office supervisor.”
    Three years later, in 2016, Edwards applied for—and received—a
    promotion to be an “office manager” in WellStar’s Powder Springs
    office.
    As an office manager, Edwards was responsible for oversee-
    ing the office’s day-to-day operations. Edwards described the “es-
    sential functions” of her position as the “coordination of operations
    of the practice and staff meetings; supervision of patient schedul-
    ing, billing, [and] medical records; monthly financial reports; and
    managing staff performance.” As office manager, Edwards re-
    ported to Adewale Adebayo (her direct supervisor) and to Amber
    Thomas-Hutson (Adebayo’s supervisor).
    In 2015, Edwards began seeing a licensed clinical social
    worker, Robert Bryant, for “major depression recurrent with anx-
    ious stress.” In October 2017, Edwards took leave under the Fam-
    ily and Medical Leave Act for anxiety and stress. She returned to
    work about four months later in February 2018.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 3 of 19
    20-13866               Opinion of the Court                        3
    WellStar required employees returning from a leave of ab-
    sence to be cleared to return. Edwards’s therapist only cleared her
    to return to work for four hours per day during her first thirty days
    back. So Edwards asked Joey Hunt—WellStar’s Vice President of
    Human Resources—for this work schedule as an accommodation
    under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hunt approved Ed-
    wards’s request.
    When Edwards returned to work, Adebayo—her direct su-
    pervisor—questioned her about her new schedule. After Edwards
    confirmed that she was limited to a four-hour workday, Adebayo
    asked her to email him the dates that she would be out of the office.
    He also asked her what type of illness she had. In response, Ed-
    wards filed a complaint about Adebayo and stated that she felt that
    “her safety [had been] compromised.” Because Edwards had re-
    ported that she did not feel safe in the workplace, Hunt placed her
    on paid administrative leave while he investigated her complaint.
    In March 2018, while Edwards was out on paid administra-
    tive leave, Thomas-Hutson decided to transfer Edwards to the
    “soon to be opening medical office on Prestley Mill Road,” where
    Edwards would have the same position with the same salary and
    benefits. Thomas-Hutson concluded that the transfer would “al-
    low Edwards a fresh start at another practice.” Because the Prest-
    ley Mill Road office wasn’t scheduled to open for a few months,
    Thomas-Hutson decided that, in the meantime, Edwards would
    “have some capacity and therefore would also be assisting
    [Thomas-Hutson] and Adebayo on the PCORI [Patient Centered
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866          Date Filed: 07/29/2022        Page: 4 of 19
    4                        Opinion of the Court                    20-13866
    Outcomes Research Institute] project.” PCORI is an entity that
    funds projects aimed at improving health care.
    On March 16, Edwards emailed Hunt, asking for an update
    on her complaint. She asked if she could return from paid admin-
    istrative leave to “rebuild trust with [her] team uninterrupted.”
    Hunt responded that Edwards would remain on paid administra-
    tive leave pending the investigation into her complaint.
    Weeks later, on April 9, Hunt met with Edwards to discuss
    the results of his investigation. He concluded that Adebayo hadn’t
    committed any wrongdoing and closed the investigation. Hunt
    also told Edwards about her temporary reassignment to the PCORI
    project—which was being run by Adebayo and Thomas-Hutson—
    and explained that she would then become the office manager of a
    new WellStar office when it opened. Edwards was unhappy with
    the transfer and told Hunt that she felt that the PCORI project “was
    an unsafe place to be for [her]” under Adebayo’s and Thomas-Hut-
    son’s management.1 Hunt did not provide any specifics about
    1
    On top of her complaint against Adebayo, Edwards also filed a complaint
    against Thomas-Hutson. The previous year, after a survey revealed that the
    Powder Springs Medical Center staff had much lower employee morale than
    other WellStar branches, Thomas-Hutson conducted a focus group with the
    staff to find out why. The employees complained about Edwards’s leadership
    style. Despite being barred from attending, Edwards allegedly questioned em-
    ployees about what they said at the focus group. After Thomas-Hutson con-
    fronted Edwards about her inquiries, Edwards filed a complaint about
    Thomas-Hutson’s “unprofessional behavior.” An investigation found no
    wrongdoing.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866              Date Filed: 07/29/2022        Page: 5 of 19
    20-13866                     Opinion of the Court                               5
    what Edwards would be doing at the PCORI project. Instead,
    Hunt said that he would set up a meeting between Edwards,
    Adebayo, Thomas-Hutson, and himself to discuss next steps.
    The next day, Edwards followed up with Hunt, emailing
    him that she couldn’t meet with Adebayo or Thomas-Hutson be-
    cause of her health condition.2 At this point, Edwards retained an
    attorney and told WellStar to direct all future communications to
    her counsel.
    At some point in mid-May, Edwards called Hunt to ask for
    an accommodation—specifically, to transfer supervisors. She sub-
    mitted a letter from her therapist stating that “[s]he would benefit
    from being reassigned to a similar position on another team.”
    On May 21, Edwards met with Hunt and representatives
    from human resources to discuss Edwards’s request to be assigned
    to a new team. At the meeting, they “discussed the PCORI project,
    [with Edwards] still asking for the job description and what [she’d]
    be doing. [They] also discussed a transfer to anywhere other than
    the PCORI project.” Edwards offered to take a pay cut to transfer
    but she never applied to transfer to another location. Other than
    transferring supervisors, Edwards didn’t ask for any other accom-
    modations. She again told Hunt that she could not work with
    Thomas-Hutson or Adebayo because of their unprofessional be-
    havior. That same day, Edwards tried to go back to the office to
    2
    She also filed a complaint against Hunt for his “improper investigation.”
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022    Page: 6 of 19
    6                      Opinion of the Court               20-13866
    work—because her paid leave had ended—but Hunt sent her
    home.
    Days later, on May 25, Hunt told Edwards that transferring
    supervisors was not a reasonable accommodation and that, “[i]f
    there [was] a different accommodation [she] would like to re-
    quest,” then Edwards should submit it “by June 1” or else WellStar
    would “make a decision” about her employment based on the in-
    formation she had previously provided.
    Edwards replied later that day, telling Hunt that, “[i]f [she
    was] to remain under the management/supervision of [her super-
    visors], [she] respectfully ma[de] the following reasonable accom-
    modation request.” Edwards then listed eighteen accommoda-
    tions (which we’ve reproduced below):
    • [1] Telecommuting and/or working from home.(On an as
    needed basis only due to medication side effects)
    • [2] Part-time work hours, job sharing, adjustments in the
    start or end of work hours(as needed to due to medication
    side effects )
    • [3] Sick leave for reasons related to mental health, flexible
    use of vacation time, additional unpaid or administrative
    leave for treatment of recovery, leaves of absence and/or
    use of occasional leave (a few hours at a time) for therapy
    and other related appointments.
    • [4] Breaks according to individual needs rather than a fixed
    schedule, more frequent breaks and/or greater flexibility in
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 7 of 19
    20-13866               Opinion of the Court                        7
    scheduling breaks, provision of backup coverage during
    breaks, and telephone breaks during work hours to call pro-
    fessionals and others needed for support.
    •   [5] Reduction and/or removal of distractions in the work
    area.
    •   [6] Tape recorders for recording/reviewing meetings and
    training sessions.(due to medication side effects and symp-
    toms of my health condition)
    •   [7] Modification or removal of non-essential job duties or
    restricting of the job to include only the essential job func-
    tions.
    •   [8] Division of large assignments into smaller tasks and
    goals.
    •   [9] Additional assistance and/or time for orientation activi-
    ties, training and learning job tasks and new responsibili-
    ties.(based on my individual needs)
    •   [10] Additional training or modified training materi-
    als.(based on my individual needs)
    •   [11] Implementation of flexible and supportive supervision
    style; POSITIVE reinforcement and feedback; adjustments
    in the level of supervision or structure, such as more fre-
    quent meetings to help prioritize my daily tasks; and open
    communication DIRECTLY with supervisors regarding
    performance and work expectations.
    •   [12] Additional forms of communication and/or written
    and visual tools, including communication of assignments
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866         Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 8 of 19
    8                       Opinion of the Court                 20-13866
    and instructions in my preferred learning style (written, or
    e-mail demonstration)creation and implementation of writ-
    ten tools such as daily ‘to-do’ lists, step-by-step checklists,
    written (in addition to typed minutes of meetings).
    •   [13] Regularly scheduled meetings (weekly) to discuss
    workplace issues and productivity, including annual discus-
    sions as part of performance appraisals to assess abilities and
    discuss promotional opportunities/performance deficien-
    cies.
    •   [14] Development of strategies to deal with problems
    BEFORE they arise.
    •   [15] Written work agreements that include any agreed upon
    accommodations, long-term and short-term goals, expecta-
    tions of responsibilities and performance standards.
    •   [16] ALL meetings must be scheduled with at least a week
    prior notice. The meeting agenda and attendees must be
    disclosed at the time the meeting is scheduled.
    •   [17] Any cancellation, rescheduling or postponing of meet-
    ings will need to be done so in writing with explanation at
    least 24hrs in advance.
    •   [18] There will be no behavior or violation of the code of
    conduct of any kind that will exacerbate my mental health
    condition.
    Edwards listed eighteen accommodations because she didn’t
    know what her new job responsibilities at the PCORI project
    would be and wanted to let WellStar “pick the ones that wouldn’t
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    20-13866              Opinion of the Court                      9
    be a hardship.” Edwards admitted, though, that she copied the
    eighteen accommodations from “the ADA website,” even though
    her therapist had only ever recommended that she change supervi-
    sors.
    On June 5, Hunt responded that he didn’t understand
    whether Edwards was requesting all of the accommodations or
    whether some subset of them would be sufficient. He also said it
    was unclear how the accommodations would help her mental
    health condition. He further noted that “many of her requests
    [were] non-specific.” To that end, Hunt asked Edwards to identify
    which accommodations she was requesting and to explain how
    those accommodations would allow her to perform in light of her
    health condition. Hunt asked Edwards to respond by the next day.
    Edwards replied a few hours later, explaining that she was
    requesting accommodations “to allow [her] to maximize [her]
    productivity.” She explained that she had recently been diagnosed
    with “major depressive disorder w[ith] anxious stress,” which was
    causing her to experience sadness, sleep disturbances, and related
    symptoms. She said she was also taking medication that caused her
    to feel groggy. Edwards listed the same accommodations from her
    May 25 email almost verbatim, adding that she wasn’t certain
    whether she would remain as an office manager at the Powder
    Springs office or whether she would move to the PCORI project.
    Edwards asked for more time to re-acclimate if she was going to
    stay at the Powder Springs office or for more time to orient to a
    new position at the PCORI project.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022    Page: 10 of 19
    10                     Opinion of the Court                20-13866
    In her email, Edwards also linked some of her requested ac-
    commodations to her depression and anxiety. She noted, for ex-
    ample, that: (1) due to her anxiety, she wanted meetings to be
    scheduled with a week’s notice; (2) due to her depression and anx-
    iety, she wanted 24 hours’ notice of any meeting’s cancellation, re-
    scheduling, or postponement; and (3) due to her depression, she
    wanted there to be “no code of conduct violations of any kind that
    w[ould] exacerbate [her] mental health condition.” Edwards con-
    cluded by asking Hunt to let her know if he needed medical docu-
    mentation of her disability or need for accommodations and that
    she “looked forward to meeting with [him] to discuss options for
    accommodating [her] disability.”
    On June 8, a few days later, Hunt responded that Edwards’s
    requests were “unduly burdensome, impractical, [and] disruptive.”
    He noted, for instance, that it wasn’t feasible to schedule all meet-
    ings a week in advance. More than that, he continued, “many of
    the requested accommodations are too general to implement in
    any meaningful way.” So, Hunt concluded, he couldn’t grant her
    request. And because Edwards had multiple opportunities to iden-
    tify a set of reasonable accommodations and had not done so, Hunt
    “concluded that no such accommodation exists.” He terminated
    her employment.
    PROCEDURAL HISTORY
    After her termination, Edwards sued WellStar for violating
    the Americans with Disabilities Act because WellStar committed
    “[a]ctual [d]iscrimination and [f]ailure to [a]ccommodate in
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866           Date Filed: 07/29/2022       Page: 11 of 19
    20-13866                  Opinion of the Court                             11
    [v]iolation of the [Americans with Disabilities Act].” 3 In her com-
    plaint, Edwards alleged that, although she asked for accommoda-
    tions (in her May 25 and June 5 emails), WellStar refused to meet
    with her, hid the essential functions of her new position, and de-
    nied her accommodations. Edwards also claimed that WellStar re-
    fused to engage in the “interactive process” required by the Amer-
    icans with Disabilities Act.
    WellStar moved for summary judgment. WellStar con-
    strued Edwards’s complaint as asserting two claims—one for fail-
    ing to accommodate her disability and one for failing to engage in
    the Act’s “interactive process.”
    As to Edwards’s failure to accommodate claim, WellStar
    contended that transferring supervisors was not a reasonable ac-
    commodation. And her other proposed accommodations were ei-
    ther non-specific, not reasonable, or would require changing the
    essential functions of the office manager position.
    As to Edwards’s interactive process claim, WellStar con-
    tended that it was not an independent claim and that, even if it was,
    it failed because there was no genuine dispute that WellStar had
    worked with her in good faith and provided multiple opportunities
    to identify a reasonable accommodation.
    3
    Edwards also asserted claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and
    for “regarded as” discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Americans
    with Disabilities Act. Because Edwards does not appeal the summary judg-
    ment for WellStar on those claims, we don’t discuss them further.
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    12                      Opinion of the Court                 20-13866
    Edwards responded in several ways. As to the failure to ac-
    commodate claim, Edwards argued that she satisfied all elements
    of the cause of action. As relevant here, Edwards argued that there
    was a factual dispute over whether her requested accommodations
    were reasonable because Hunt, at his deposition, admitted that ten
    of the eighteen requests could be implemented. Edwards also
    claimed that she didn’t intend for WellStar to grant every request,
    which is why she had told Hunt that she looked forward to meeting
    with him to discuss “options.”
    As to her interactive process claim, Edwards conceded that
    it was not an independent claim. Still, she argued that several facts
    showed that WellStar had failed to accommodate her and was re-
    sponsible for the breakdown in the interactive process. For exam-
    ple, she pointed to: WellStar’s failure to identify the essential func-
    tions of the PCORI position, its refusal to identify any possible po-
    sitions to transfer to, its decision to impose short deadlines on her
    to respond, and its refusal to meet with her in response to her June
    5 email.
    The district court entered summary judgment for WellStar.
    As to the failure to accommodate claim, the district court con-
    cluded that “[b]ecause [Edwards] has failed to clarify what accom-
    modation(s) she needed to address her disability, she has failed to
    show that her requested accommodations were reasonable[.]” The
    district court rejected Edwards’s argument that some of her accom-
    modations were reasonable, explaining that she hadn’t “identified
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866       Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 13 of 19
    20-13866               Opinion of the Court                        13
    which accommodations she needed to appropriately address her
    disability and that would permit her to do her job.”
    As to the “failure to engage in the interactive process” claim,
    the district court concluded:
    It is clear from a de novo review of the record that
    there was a long history of [WellStar] considering and
    granting many of [Edwards’s] ADA work accommo-
    dation requests. It is also clear from the record that
    [WellStar] specifically considered [Edwards’s] May
    21, 2018, request for different supervisors, rejected it,
    but invited [Edwards] to propose an alternative ac-
    commodation. [Edwards] responded on May 25 with
    a voluminous list of generic requests that were cut
    and pasted from a website and did not appear to be
    related to her health condition or tailored to her job
    function. Nevertheless, [WellStar] asked [Edwards]
    for clarification as to which requests she needed to ac-
    commodate her health condition and requested an
    explanation as to how the requested accommoda-
    tions would allow her to perform her work consider-
    ing the health condition. Instead of clarifying her re-
    quest, [Edwards] sent another, largely repetitive,
    laundry list of cut-and-pasted requests without any
    explanation. Based on this record, no reasonable ju-
    ror could conclude that [WellStar] cut off the
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    14                         Opinion of the Court                       20-13866
    interactive process regarding the reasonable accom-
    modation of [Edwards’s] disability.
    Edwards appeals the summary judgment for WellStar on her
    Americans with Disabilities Act claims.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judg-
    ment, “viewing all evidence, and drawing all reasonable inferences,
    in favor of the non-moving party.” Vessels v. Atlanta Indep. Sch.
    Sys., 
    408 F.3d 763
    , 767 (11th Cir. 2005). A party is entitled to sum-
    mary judgment if she can show “that there is no genuine dispute as
    to any material fact and [she] is entitled to judgment as a matter of
    law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
    DISCUSSION
    On appeal, Edwards argues that a reasonable jury could find
    for her on her failure to accommodate claim and her interactive
    process claim.4 We take each in turn.
    4
    Edwards also argues that we should revive her “actual discrimination”
    claim—that is, her claim that WellStar violated the Americans with Disabilities
    Act by firing her because of her disability. But neither side addressed this
    claim before the district court. The claim is therefore forfeited. See Johnson
    v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Ga., 
    263 F.3d 1234
    , 1264 (11th Cir. 2001) (explain-
    ing that, when a party “move[s] for final summary judgment,” the non-mov-
    ing party must “rais[e] in their opposition papers any and all arguments or de-
    fenses they felt precluded judgment in [the moving party’s] favor”).
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866        Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 15 of 19
    20-13866                Opinion of the Court                        15
    Reasonable Accommodation
    The Americans with Disabilities Act provides that “[n]o cov-
    ered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the
    basis of disability” in any terms, conditions, or privileges of employ-
    ment. 
    42 U.S.C. § 12112
    (a). To prevail on a disability discrimina-
    tion claim, a plaintiff must show that: “(1) she is disabled, (2) she
    was a qualified individual when she was terminated, and (3) she
    was discriminated against on account of her disability.” Frazier-
    White v. Gee, 
    818 F.3d 1249
    , 1255 (11th Cir. 2016). We’ll focus our
    attention to the third element: discrimination.
    “An employer unlawfully discriminates against a qualified
    individual with a disability when the employer fails to provide rea-
    sonable accommodations for the disability—unless doing so would
    impose undue hardship on the employer.” Lucas v. W.W. Grain-
    ger, Inc., 
    257 F.3d 1249
    , 1255 (11th Cir. 2001) (cleaned up); see also
    
    42 U.S.C. § 12112
    (b)(5)(A) (providing that discrimination includes
    “not making reasonable accommodations . . . , unless . . . the ac-
    commodation would impose an undue hardship” on the business).
    “The burden of identifying an accommodation that would allow a
    qualified employee to perform the essential functions of her job
    rests with that employee, as does the ultimate burden of persuasion
    with respect to showing that such accommodation is reasonable.”
    Earl v. Mervyns, Inc., 
    207 F.3d 1361
    , 1367 (11th Cir. 2000).
    But what is a reasonable accommodation? For one thing,
    we’ve said that “[a]n ‘accommodation’ is ‘reasonable’—and, there-
    fore, required under the ADA—only if it enables the employee to
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866          Date Filed: 07/29/2022        Page: 16 of 19
    16                        Opinion of the Court                    20-13866
    perform the essential functions of the job.” LaChance v. Duffy’s
    Draft House, Inc., 
    146 F.3d 832
    , 835 (11th Cir. 1998) (emphasis
    added); see also 
    29 C.F.R. § 1630.2
    (o)(1)(ii) (defining a reasonable
    accommodation partly as an action that “enable[s] an individual
    with a disability who is qualified to perform the essential functions
    of that position”). To “[e]nable” means “to make someone able to
    do something” or “to make something possible.” Enable, Cam-
    bridge English Dictionary Online (2022). In other words, a plaintiff
    must show that the accommodation is necessary—in that the ac-
    commodation “make[s] [it] possible” for her to do her job. 
    Id.
     The
    corollary is that, “[i]f an employee does not require an accommo-
    dation to perform her essential job functions, then the employer is
    under no obligation to make an accommodation, even if the em-
    ployee requests an accommodation that is reasonable and could be
    easily provided.” D’Onofrio v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 
    964 F.3d 1014
    , 1022 (11th Cir. 2020) (emphasis added).
    Edwards hasn’t shown that she needed an accommodation.
    Viewed in the light most favorable to Edwards, the office man-
    ager’s essential functions were: “coordination of operations of the
    practice and staff meetings; supervision of patient scheduling, bill-
    ing, [and] medical records; monthly financial reports; and manag-
    ing staff performance.” 5 But Edwards admits that she could do all
    of these things without accommodations.             In her final
    5
    The parties agree that the relevant position is the office manager position,
    not the PCORI project position.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13866        Date Filed: 07/29/2022     Page: 17 of 19
    20-13866                Opinion of the Court                        17
    accommodations request, for example, Edwards said she was ask-
    ing for her long list of accommodations—not because she needed
    them—but because they would “maximize [her] productivity.”
    Consistent with that, Edwards performed the essential functions of
    the office manager role for two years without accommodations,
    even after she began treatment with Dr. Bryant in 2015. Even Ed-
    wards concedes that she “had been performing in the position and
    a similar position for five years before she was terminated and still
    could perform the essential functions of her position.” Consistent
    with this admission, Edwards tried to come back to work, in May
    2018, without any accommodations.
    Although Edwards listed eighteen accommodations in her
    letter to Hunt—some of which WellStar admitted it could reason-
    ably provide—she didn’t identify any specific accommodations and
    explain how those accommodation would “enable” her to perform
    the essential functions of her job. See Terrell v. USAir, 
    132 F.3d 621
    , 626 (11th Cir. 1998) (“[A] plaintiff does not satisfy her initial
    burden by simply naming a preferred accommodation—even one
    mention in the statute or regulations; she must show that the ac-
    commodation is ‘reasonable’ given her situation.”); cf. Schwarz v.
    City of Treasure Island, 
    544 F.3d 1201
    , 1219 (11th Cir. 2008) (hold-
    ing, in the housing context, that a city “cannot be liable for refusing
    to grant a reasonable and necessary accommodation if the city
    never knew the accommodation was in fact necessary” (cleaned
    up)). For an accommodation to be reasonable, it must “enable”
    Edwards to perform her job. 
    29 C.F.R. § 1630.2
    (o)(1)(ii). Even on
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    18                     Opinion of the Court                20-13866
    appeal, though, Edwards hasn’t explained which accommodations
    she needs—not merely wants. And it’s “incumbent on the plain-
    tiff[], not the defendant[] or the court, to identify where [she]
    wanted partial relief, if full relief [was] not possible.” Onishea v.
    Hopper, 
    171 F.3d 1289
    , 1305 (11th Cir. 1999). In the end, this is
    fatal to Edwards’s claim.
    In sum: a reasonable accommodation is one that “enable[s]
    an individual with a disability who is qualified to perform the es-
    sential functions of that position.” 
    29 C.F.R. § 1630.2
    (o)(1(ii). Be-
    cause Edwards was able to perform the essential functions of her
    job without any accommodation, she didn’t need an accommoda-
    tion to “make [it] possible” or “enable” her to perform them. Put
    another way, because she was already capable of doing the job, she
    did “not require an accommodation to perform her essential job
    functions” and Wellstar was thus “under no obligation to make an
    accommodation.” D’Onofrio, 964 F.3d at 1022. For this reason,
    WellStar didn’t violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by
    denying Edwards’s accommodations requests.
    Interactive Process
    Edwards’s interactive process claim also fails. The Equal
    Employment Opportunity Commission’s regulations provide that,
    “[t]o determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation it may
    be necessary for the covered entity to initiate an informal, interac-
    tive process with the individual with a disability in need of the ac-
    commodation.” 
    29 C.F.R. § 1630.2
    (o)(3). But we’ve held that,
    “where a plaintiff cannot demonstrate ‘reasonable
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    20-13866              Opinion of the Court                      19
    accommodation,’ the employer’s lack of investigation into reason-
    able accommodation is unimportant.” Willis v. Conopco, Inc., 
    108 F.3d 282
    , 285 (11th Cir. 1997). Edwards failed to show that she re-
    quested any reasonable accommodation. As a result, WellStar had
    no obligation to initiate an interactive process.
    AFFIRMED.