Disclo raises $5 million to help HR comply with the ADA

HR pros are often spinning multiple plates. They can be tasked with recruiting, onboarding, culture, training, and more. Add Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance to the mix, and a plate might come crashing down.

Disabled employees may be afraid to self-identify as disabled or request reasonable accommodation needs at work. Meanwhile, the HR professionals who work with them may not know how to create a request process or determine, from an ADA standpoint, when an accommodation is warranted.

But Disclo, an Atlanta-based software startup, is trying to help HR professionals navigate this tricky territory—now with the help of millions in funding.

Technology that helps. Disclo announced $5 million in seed funding on February 1, led by General Catalyst, with the startup now totalling $6.6 million in funding overall. The company was founded last year by Hannah Olson and Kai Keane; Olson, who serves as CEO, has a chronic illness and had difficulty requesting accommodations when she entered the workforce. She and Keane created Disclo to help other disabled workers avoid the uncomfortable conversations that otherwise prevent people from asking for accommodations.

How it works. Disclo’s software streamlines ADA accommodation requests and allows HR leaders to request and manage health disclosures, without revealing employees’ specific disabilities. The founders claim that Disclo is the first software to provide a technology-enabled, private path for accommodations, protecting employee privacy while keeping HR HIPAA-compliant. Through the Disclo platform, employers can manage all accommodation requests, check the status of documents, and conduct pulse surveys.

“Many [people] don’t trust that their company’s HR department will keep their medical information private,” Olson told Forbes last August. “We verify the disability directly with the employee’s medical provider, and let their employer know which accommodations they are requesting. We’re removing the awkward conversations in the lunchroom, and providing a safe and efficient way to ask for accommodations at work,” she said.—KP