Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

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Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law, prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities who are qualified for a job. On September 25, 2008, the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) was signed into law making significant changes regarding which employees and job applicants are considered disabled and protected from discrimination. The ADA covers all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions that employ 15 or more individuals.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Manual for employers

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Basically, the Americans with Disabilities Act gives people with disabilities a level playing field in the areas of employment and public accommodations. For employers, that means they can't take an applicant's disabilities into account when deciding whether to hire him or in other areas of employment, and businesses may have to help a disabled worker do his job once he is on board.

The Americans with Disabilities Act also imposes a requirement on the employer to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for the known disabilities of applicants and employees, as long as that accommodation does not cause an undue hardship to its business Many states also have laws regarding disability discrimination in the workplace that may be stricter than federal laws.

State-by-state comparison of 50 employment laws in all 50 states, including discrimination

Definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and ADAAA
The Americans with Disabilities Act protects qualified employees and applicants with disabilities from discrimination by employers. The ADA requires a covered employer to make reasonable accommodations to allow a disabled individual to perform the essential functions of his job. To be protected, an employee must establish that he is disabled within the meaning of the statute. Not every illness or ailment qualifies as a "disability" under the ADA.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, workers must satisfy a three-part test before they are entitled to the benefits and protections of the Act. First, the employee must demonstrate that she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of her major life activities. She can also satisfy the "impairment" requirement by demonstrating that she has a record of an impairment or that her employer regarded her as having an impairment.

Second, the employee must establish that her impairment substantially limits a "major life activity." And third, she must establish that even with the disability, she can perform the essential functions of her job, with or without reasonable accommodation. Of course, each of those terms has been examined extensively by the courts.

The ADA Amendments Act provides that the term "substantially limits" must be interpreted consistently with the "findings and purposes" of the ADAAA. Those findings and purposes are provided as a list of general and specific requirements at the beginning of the Act, which champion a less demanding standard than is currently applicable. The ADA Amendments Act also clarifies that it is to be construed "in favor of broad coverage of individuals under this Act, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act."

The ADA Amendments Act also provides an extensive list of those tasks that constitute "major life activities," including physical tasks such as walking, standing, and lifting; mental tasks such as learning, reading, and thinking; and even the operation of major bodily functions, such as immune system function, cell growth, and reproductive function.

HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including discrimination and the ADA

Accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities
Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability unless doing so would cause the business an undue hardship. Because the standard is high, most employers will have trouble proving that an accommodation causes such a hardship.

Employers should note that granting extended leave to an employee is considered a form of reasonable accommodation. Thus, even if the employee has used up his sick leave, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, and vacation leave, it still may need to grant additional leave for employees with disabilities.

What happens when an employee files a disability discrimination charge with the EEOC?
As with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employee first must file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before filing a complaint alleging an Americans with Disabilities Act violation against his employer. Employees (or the EEOC) can sue for lost wages, benefits, reinstatement, and attorneys' fees. An employer may be liable for capped compensatory damages as well as punitive damages if the court finds intentional discrimination.

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• Take Extra Care when Firing or Laying Off Disabled Employees
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HR Tools for Disability Discrimination

• Sample Policy - Harassment and/or Discrimination
• Sample Policy - Equal Employment
• Sample Policy - Injury / Illness on the Job
• Sample Policy - Temporary Modified Duty