The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a
Disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (ADA) makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment
against a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA also
outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in
State and local government services, public accommodations,
transportation and telecommunications. This booklet explains the
part of the ADA that prohibits job discrimination. This part of the
law is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and State and local civil rights enforcement agencies that work
with the Commission.
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.
The part of the ADA enforced by the EEOC outlaws job
discrimination by:
- all employers, including State and local government employers,
with 25 or more employees after July 26, 1992, and
- all employers, including State and local government employers,
with 15 or more employees after July 26, 1994.
Another part of the ADA, enforced by the U.S. Department of
Justice, prohibits discrimination in State and local government
programs and activities, including discrimination by all State and
local governments, regardless of the number of employees, after
January 26, 1992.
Because the ADA establishes overlapping responsibilities in both
EEOC and DOJ for employment by State and local governments, the
Federal enforcement effort is coordinated by EEOC and DOJ to avoid
duplication in investigative and enforcement activities. In
addition, since some private and governmental employers are already
covered by nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, EEOC, DOJ, and the Department
of Labor similarly coordinate the enforcement effort under the ADA
and the Rehabilitation Act.
Are You Protected by The ADA?
If you have a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA
protects you from 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 if you don't.
To be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of,
or be regarded as having a substantial, as opposed to a minor,
impairment. A substantial impairment is one that significantly
limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing,
speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for
oneself, learning or working.
If you have a disability, you must also be qualified to perform
the essential functions or duties of a job, with or without
reasonable accommodation, in order to be protected from job
discrimination by the ADA. This means two things. First, you must
satisfy the employer's requirements for the job, such as education,
employment experience, skills or licenses. Second, you must be able
to perform the essential functions of the job with or without
reasonable accommodation. Essential functions are the fundamental
job duties that you must be able to perform on your own or with the
help of a reasonable accommodation. An employer cannot refuse to
hire you because your disability prevents you from performing
duties that are not essential to the job.
What is Reasonable Accommodation?
Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or
work environment that permits a qualified applicant or employee
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. 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 disabilities.
An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation to
a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the
employer can show that the accommodation would be an undue hardship
-- that is, that it would require significant 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 discrimination because of your family,
business, social or other relationship or association with an
individual with a disability.
Can an Employer Require Medical Examinations or
Ask Questions About a Disability?
If you are applying for a job, an employer cannot ask you if you
are disabled or ask about the nature or severity of your
disability. An employer can ask if you can perform the duties of
the job with or without reasonable accommodation. An employer can
also ask you to describe or to demonstrate how, with or without
reasonable accommodation, you will perform the duties of the
job.
An employer cannot require you to take a medical examination
before you are offered a job. Following a job offer, an employer
can condition the offer on your passing a required medical
examination, but only if all entering employees for that job
category have to take the examination. However, an employer cannot
reject you because of information about your disability revealed by
the medical examination, unless the reasons for rejection are
job-related and necessary for the conduct of the employer's
business. The employer cannot refuse to hire you because of your
disability if you can perform the essential functions of the job
with an accommodation.
Once you have been hired and started work, your employer cannot
require that you take a medical examination or ask questions about
your disability unless they are related to your job and necessary
for the conduct of your employer's business. Your employer may
conduct voluntary medical examinations that are part of an employee
health program, and may provide medical information required by
State workers' compensation laws to the agencies that administer
such laws.
The results of all medical examinations must be kept
confidential, and maintained in separate medical files.
Do Individuals Who Use Drugs Illegally Have
Rights Under the ADA?
Anyone who is currently using drugs illegally is not protected
by the ADA and may be denied employment or fired on the basis of
such use. The ADA does not prevent employers from testing
applicants or employees for current illegal drug use.
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 disability after July 26, 1992, you should contact
the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A charge of
discrimination generally must be filed within 180 days of the
alleged discrimination. You may have up to 300 days to file a
charge if there is a State or local law that provides relief for
discrimination on the basis of disability. However, to protect your
rights, it is best to contact EEOC 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 have 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 reasonable accommodation, including reassignment. You
may also be entitled to attorneys fees.
While the EEOC can only process ADA charges based on actions
occurring on or after July 26, 1992, you may already be protected
by State or local laws or by other current federal laws. EEOC field
offices can refer you to the agencies that enforce those laws.
To contact the EEOC, look in your telephone directory under
"U.S. Government." For information and instructions on reaching
your local office, call:
- (800) 669-4000 (Voice)
- (800) 669-6820 (TDD)
- (In the Washington, D.C. 202 Area Code, call 202-663-4900
(voice) or 202-663-4494 (TDD).)
Can I Get Additional ADA Information and
Assistance?
The EEOC conducts an active technical assistance program to
promote voluntary compliance with the ADA. This program is designed
to help people with disabilities understand their rights and to
help employers understand their responsibilities under the law.
In January 1992, EEOC published a Technical Assistance Manual,
providing practical application of legal requirements to specific
employment activities, with a directory of resources to aid
compliance. EEOC publishes other educational materials, provides
training on the law for people with disabilities and for employers,
and participates in meetings and training programs of other
organizations. EEOC staff also will respond to individual requests
for information and assistance. The Commission's technical
assistance program is separate and distinct from its enforcement
responsibilities. Employers who seek information or assistance from
the Commission will not be subject to any enforcement action
because of such inquiries.
The Commission also recognizes that differences and disputes
about ADA requirements may arise between employers and people with
disabilities as a result of misunderstandings. Such disputes
frequently can be resolved more effectively through informal
negotiation or mediation procedures, rather than through the formal
enforcement process of the ADA. Accordingly, EEOC will encourage
efforts of employers and individuals with disabilities to settle
such differences through alternative methods of dispute resolution,
providing that such efforts do not deprive any individual of legal
rights provided by the statute.
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 accommodation. For example, an employer may be required
to provide a sign language interpreter during a job interview for
an applicant who is deaf or hearing impaired, unless 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 inform the employer that an
accommodation will be needed. Employers are required to provide
reasonable accommodation only for the physical or mental
limitations of a qualified individual with a disability of which
they are aware. Generally, it is the responsibility of the employee
to inform the employer that an accommodation 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, the 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 accommodation by lowering your salary or paying you less
than other employees in similar positions.
Q. Does an employer have to make non-work areas used by
employees, such as cafeterias, lounges, or employer-provided
transportation accessible to people with disabilities?
A. Yes. The requirement to provide reasonable accommodation
covers all services, programs, and non-work facilities provided by
the employer. If making an existing facility accessible would be an
undue hardship, the employer must provide a comparable facility
that will enable a person with a disability to enjoy benefits and
privileges of employment similar to those enjoyed by other
employees, unless to do so would be an undue hardship.
Q. If an employer has several qualified applicants for a
job, is the employer required to select a qualified applicant with
a disability over other applicants without a
disability?
A. No. The ADA does not require that an employer hire an
applicant with a disability over other applicants because the
person has a disability. The ADA only prohibits 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
because 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 perform the essential functions
of the job?
A. The ADA permits an employer to refuse to hire an individual
if she poses a direct 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 present
ability to perform essential functions of a job. An employer cannot
refuse to hire you because of a slightly increased risk or because
of fears that there might be a significant risk sometime in the
future. The employer must also consider 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 pre-existing conditions?
A. Yes. The ADA does not affect pre-existing condition clauses
contained in health insurance policies even though such clauses may
adversely affect employees with disabilities more than other
employees.
Q. If the health insurance offered by my employer does
not cover all of the medical expenses related to my disability,
does the company have to obtain additional coverage for
me?
A. No. The ADA only requires that an employer provide employees
with disabilities equal access to whatever health insurance
coverage is offered to other employees.
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 with a known disability.
Q. Are people with AIDS covered by the ADA?
A. Yes. The legislative history indicates that Congress intended
the ADA to protect persons with AIDS and HIV disease from
discrimination.
For more specific information about ADA requirements affecting
employment contact:
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
1801 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20507
(800) 669-4000 (Voice), (800) 669-6820 (TDD)
(202) 663-4900 (Voice - for 202 Area Code)
(202) 663-4494 (TDD - for 202 Area Code)
For more specific information about ADA requirements affecting
public accommodations and State and local government
services contact:
Department of Justice
Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Civil Rights Division
P.O. Box 66118
Washington, DC 20035-6118
(202) 514-0301 (Voice)
(202) 514-0381 (TDD)
(202) 514-0383 (TDD)
For more specific information about requirements for
accessible design in new construction and alterations
contact:
Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board
1111 18th Street, NW
Suite 501
Washington, DC 20036
800-USA-ABLE
800-USA-ABLE (TDD)
For more specific information about ADA requirements affecting
transportation contact:
Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-9305
(202) 755-7687 (TDD)
For more specific information about ADA requirements for
telecommunications contact: Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20554 (202) 634-1837 (202)
632-1836 (TDD)
You may obtain this booklet in alternate formats, upon request
by dialing 800-669-3362 or 800-800-3302.
This page was last modified on January 15, 1997.
The above article was reprinted from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Check the EEOC website for any changes to the article.
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