What Workers Should Know About the ADA

The Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA, is Federal legislation enacted in 1990 to assert the rights of Americans with disabilities to fully participate in public life, and protect them from discrimination based on a wide range of conditions which limit their ability to perform common tasks and activities.

In the workplace, employers must provide the means to allow qualified workers to participate in the workforce by accommodating their needs. These accommodations can be obvious, such as the need for an elevator or wheelchair ramp to provide access to a workplace for employees with mobility challenges. They can also be less obvious, addressing "invisible" disabilities.

The Act "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."*

Retaliation against a person who has asserted their rights under the Act is specifically prohibited.

The range of covered disabilities is extensive. "A person with a disability is someone who:

• has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,

• has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or

• is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).

If a person falls into any of these categories, the ADA protects them. Because the ADA is a law, and not a benefit program, you do not need to apply for coverage." **

"Some examples of disabilities include:

• Cancer

• Diabetes

• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• HIV

• Autism

• Cerebral palsy

• Deafness or hearing loss

• Blindness or low vision

• Epilepsy

• Mobility disabilities such as those requiring the use of a wheelchair, walker, or cane

• Intellectual disabilities

• Major depressive disorder

• Traumatic brain injury" **

The ADA is over 30 years old, and has stood the test of time. Between 1990 and 2008 challenges brought by employers resulted in US Supreme Court decisions effectively narrowing the definition of a disability, tilting the balance in favor of employers at the expense of workers. Congress amended the Act in 2008 to affirm a broad definition of disabilities, and ensure that courts focus on the employer's responsibilities rather than seeking to disqualify individuals on technical grounds.

The ADA is sweeping legislation which impacts almost all aspects of American life, yet can also be daunting and complex in its application to any individual situation. There are a few exceptions, but most employers and state/local governments are compelled to follow the provisions of the Act.

If you feel you have been discriminated against in the workplace as a result of a disability, you owe it to yourself to consult an attorney.

Learn more:

Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act

*Guide to Disability Rights Laws, www.ada.gov (retrieved 10/28/2024)

**Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act, www.ada.gov (retrieved 10/28/2024)