Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress.
To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered.
The ADA also protects individuals who have a record of a substantially limiting impairment. A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, breathing, walking, caring for oneself, learning or working.
A qualified candidate or faculty member with a disability is an individual who satisfies the skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the position held or desired, and who, with or without a reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of that position.
Essential functions of the job are the tasks that are fundamental, not marginal.
A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified candidate or faculty member with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; modifying work schedules; or acquiring equipment or devices.
To learn more about what is classified as a disability, physical or mental impairment, or major life activity, please click on the following link ADA Defined.
ADA Title I: Employment
Title I requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities to others. For example, it prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment. It restricts questions that can be asked about an applicant's disability before a job offer is made, and it requires that employers make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities, unless it results in undue hardship. Religious entities with 15 or more employees are covered under Title I.
Employers may not discriminate against an individual with a disability in hiring or promotion if the person is otherwise qualified for the job.
Employers can ask about an individual's ability to perform a job, but cannot inquire if someone has a disability or subject a person to tests that tend to screen out people with disabilities.
Employers will need to provide "reasonable accommodations" to individuals with disabilities. This includes steps such as job restructuring and modification of equipment. However, employers do not need to provide accommodations that impose an "undue hardship" on business operations.
Who needs to comply:
