What Employers Are Covered by the ADA?

Job discrimination against people with disabilities is illegal if practiced by: private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations, and labor-management committees. Another part of the ADA, enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice, prohibits d iscrimination in State and local government programs and activities, including d iscrimination by all State and local governments, regardless of the number of em ployees, after January 26, 1992. If you have a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA protects you fro m job discrimination on the basis of your disability. Under the ADA, you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects you if you have a history of such a disability, or if an employer believes that you have such a disability, even i f you don't. What is Reasonable Accommodation? Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environmen t that permits a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participat e in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, o r to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by emplo yees without disabilities. For example, reasonable accommodation may include: providing or modifying equipment or devices, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies, providing readers and interpreters, and making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabil ities. An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified app licant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show that the accom modation would be an undue hardship -- that is, that it would require significan t difficulty or expense. What Employment Practices are Covered? The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in all employment practices such as: recruitment firing hiring training job assignments promotions pay benefits lay off leave all other employment related activities.

It is also unlawful for an employer to retaliate against you for asserting your rights under the ADA. The Act also protects you if you are a victim of discrimin ation because of your family, business, social or other relationship or associat ion with an individual with a disability. What Do I Do If I Think That I'm Being Discriminated Against? If you think you have been discriminated against in employment on the basis of d isability after July 26, 1992, you should contact the U.S. Equal Employment Oppo rtunity Commission. A charge of discrimination generally must be filed within 18 0 days of the alleged discrimination. You may have up to 300 days to file a char ge if there is a State or local law that provides relief for discrimination on t he basis of disability. However, to protect your rights, it is best to contact E EOC promptly if discrimination is suspected. You may file a charge of discrimination on the basis of disability by contacting any EEOC field office, located in cities throughout the United States. If you h ave been discriminated against, you are entitled to a remedy that will place you in the position you would have been in if the discrimination had never occurred . You may be entitled to hiring, promotion, reinstatement, back pay, or reasonab le accommodation, including reassignment. You may also be entitled to attorneys fees. Disability discrimination also occurs when a covered employer or other entity tr eats an applicant or employee less favorably because she has a history of a disa bility (such as cancer that is controlled or in remission) or because she is bel ieved to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if she does not have such an impairment). The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant diff iculty or expense for the employer ("undue hardship"). The law also protects people from discrimination based on their relationship wit h a person with a disability (even if they do not themselves have a disability). For example, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee because her husb and has a disability. Disability Discrimination & Harassment It is illegal to harass an applicant or employee because he has a disability, ha d a disability in the past, or is believed to have a physical or mental impairme nt that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and m inor (even if he does not have such an impairment). Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person's disabili ty. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isola ted incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so freq uent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when i t results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or d emoted). The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a coworker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or c ustomer. Disability Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation

The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant diff iculty or expense for the employer. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment (or in the way things are usually done) to help a person with a disability apply for a job, per form the duties of a job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. Disability Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation & Undue Hardship An employer doesn't have to provide an accommodation if doing so would cause und ue hardship to the employer. Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expens ive to provide, in light of the employer's size, financial resources, and the ne eds of the business. An employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost. An employer does not have to provide the exact a ccommodation the employee or job applicant wants. If more than one accommodation works, the employer may choose which one to provide. Definition Of Disability Not everyone with a medical condition is protected by the law. In order to be pr otected, a person must be qualified for the job and have a disability as defined by the law. A person can show that he or she has a disability in one of three ways: A person may be disabled if he or she has a physical or mental condition tha t substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, or learning). A person may be disabled if he or she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission). A person may be disabled if he is believed to have a physical or mental impa irment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) a nd minor (even if he does not have such an impairment). Disability & Medical Exams During Employment Application & Interview Stage The law places strict limits on employers when it comes to asking job applicants to answer medical questions, take a medical exam, or identify a disability. For example, an employer may not ask a job applicant to answer medical questions or take a medical exam before extending a job offer. An employer also may not a sk job applicants if they have a disability (or about the nature of an obvious d isability). An employer may ask job applicants whether they can perform the job and how they would perform the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. Disability & Medical Exams After A Job Offer For Employment After a job is offered to an applicant, the law allows an employer to condition the job offer on the applicant answering certain medical questions or successful ly passing a medical exam, but only if all new employees in the same type of job have to answer the questions or take the exam. Disability & Medical Exams For Persons Who Have Started Working As Employees Once a person is hired and has started work, an employer generally can only ask medical questions or require a medical exam if the employer needs medical docume ntation to support an employee's request for an accommodation or if the employer believes that an employee is not able to perform a job successfully or safely b

ecause of a medical condition. 3. What protections does the ADA provide? Title I of the ADA prohibits an employer from treating an applicant or employee unfavorably in all aspects of employment -- including hiring, promotions, job as signments, training, termination, and any other terms, conditions, and privilege s of employment -- because he has a disability, a history of having a disability , or because the employer regards him as having a disability. That means, for ex ample, that it is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire a veteran because he has PTSD, because he was previously diagnosed with PTSD, or because the employe r assumes he has PTSD. The ADA also limits the medical information employers may obtain and prohibits disability-based harassment and retaliation. Finally, the ADA provides that, absent undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense to the employer), applicants and employees with disabilities are entitl ed to reasonable accommodation to apply for jobs, to perform their jobs, and to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment (e.g., access to the parts of an employer's facility available to all employees and access to employer-sponsor ed training and social events). Some laws, however, require private employers to give a preference to veterans w ith disabilities. For example, the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) requires that businesses with a federal contract or subcontract in the amount of $100,000 or more, entered into on or after December 1, 2003, take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified disabled veterans. VEVRAA al so requires these businesses to list their employment openings with the appropri ate employment service and to give covered veterans priority in referral to such openings While the EEOC can only process ADA charges based on actions occurring on or aft er July 26, 1992, you may already be protected by State or local laws or by othe r current federal laws. EEOC field offices can refer you to the agencies that en force those laws. To contact the EEOC, look in your telephone directory under "U.S. Government." F or information and instructions on reaching your local office. More Questions and Answers About the ADA Q. Is an employer required to provide reasonable accommodation when I apply for a job? A. Yes. Applicants, as well as employees, are entitled to reasonable accommodati on. For example, an employer may be required to provide a sign language interpre ter during a job interview for an applicant who is deaf or hearing impaired, unl ess to do so would impose an undue hardship. Q. Should I tell my employer that I have a disability? A. If you think you will need a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions, you should in form the employer that an accommodation will be needed. Employers are required t o provide reasonable accommodation only for the physical or mental limitations o f a qualified individual with a disability of which they are aware. Generally, i t is the responsibility of the employee to inform the employer that an accommoda tion is needed. Q. Do I have to pay for a needed reasonable accommodation? A. No. The ADA requires that the employer provide the accommodation unless to do

so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. If the cost of providing the needed accommodation would be an undue hardship, th e employee must be given the choice of providing the accommodation or paying for the portion of the accommodation that causes the undue hardship. Q. Can an employer lower my salary or pay me less than other employees doing the same job because I need a reasonable accommodation? A. No. An employer cannot make up the cost of providing a reasonable accommodati on by lowering your salary or paying you less than other employees in similar po sitions. Q. Does an employer have to make non-work areas used by employees, such as cafet erias, lounges, or employer-provided transportation accessible to people with di sabilities? A. Yes. The requirement to provide reasonable accommodation covers all services, programs, and non-work facilities provided by the employer. If making an existi ng facility accessible would be an undue hardship, the employer must provide a c omparable facility that will enable a person with a disability to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment similar to those enjoyed by other employees, unles s to do so would be an undue hardship. Q. If an employer has several qualified applicants for a job, is the employer re quired to select a qualified applicant with a disability over other applicants w ithout a disability? A. No. The ADA does not require that an employer hire an applicant with a disabi lity over other applicants because the person has a disability. The ADA only pro hibits discrimination on the basis of disability. It makes it unlawful to refuse to hire a qualified applicant with a disability because he is disabled or becau se a reasonable accommodation is required to make it possible for this person to perform essential job functions. Q. Can an employer refuse to hire me because he believes that it would be unsafe , because of my disability, for me to work with certain machinery required to pe rform the essential functions of the job? A. The ADA permits an employer to refuse to hire an individual if she poses a di rect threat to the health or safety of herself or others. A direct threat means a significant risk of substantial harm. The determination that there is a direct threat must be based on objective, factual evidence regarding an individual's p resent ability to perform essential functions of a job. An employer cannot refus e to hire you because of a slightly increased risk or because of fears that ther e might be a significant risk sometime in the future. The employer must also con sider whether a risk can be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level with a reasonable accommodation. Q. Can an employer offer a health insurance policy that excludes coverage for pr e-existing conditions? A. Yes. The ADA does not affect pre-existing condition clauses contained in heal th insurance policies even though such clauses may adversely affect employees wi th disabilities more than other employees. Q. If the health insurance offered by my employer does not cover all of the medi cal expenses related to my disability, does the company have to obtain additiona l coverage for me? A. No. The ADA only requires that an employer provide employees with disabilitie

s equal access to whatever health insurance coverage is offered to other employe es. Q. I think I was discriminated against because my wife is disabled. Can I file a charge with the EEOC? A. Yes. The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate against an individual, whether disabled or not, because of a relationship or association with an individual wi th a known disability. Notice Concerning The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 20 08 On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADA Amendments Act" or "Act"). The Act emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of i ndividuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis. The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" by re jecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC's A DA regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individu al seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA. The Act retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an imp airment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. Most sign ificantly, the Act: directs EEOC to revise that portion of its regulations defining the term "su bstantially limits"; expands the definition of "major life activities" by including two non-exhau stive lists: the first list includes many activities that the EEOC has recognized (e. g., walking) as well as activities that EEOC has not specifically recognized (e. g., reading, bending, and communicating); the second list includes major bodily functions (e.g., "functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, bra in, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions"); states that mitigating measures other than "ordinary eyeglasses or contact l enses" shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disabili ty; clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disabilit y if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active; changes the definition of "regarded as" so that it no longer requires a show ing that the employer perceived the individual to be substantially limited in a major life activity, and instead says that an applicant or employee is "regarded as" disabled if he or she is subject to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire or termination) based on an impairment that is not transitory an d minor; provides that individuals covered only under the "regarded as" prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation. EEOC will be evaluating the impact of these changes on its enforcement guidances and other publications addressing the ADA. Effective Date:

The ADA Amendments Act is effective as of January 1, 2009. EEOC's regulations to implement the equal employment provisions of the ADA Amendments Act are effecti ve as of March 25, 2011.