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If you are a business employing 15 or more people, it’s critical you understand what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires and the protections employees with disabilities are granted under the law.
More than 25 years ago now, in July 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush after a many decades push by advocates for the disabled. From a legal perspective, meaningful changes in public recognition of the disabled actually began in 1973, with the passage of Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Section 504, banned discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal funds. The ADA further extended such protections to employees in the private sector.
Without question, the ADA has had a profound impact on American life – including workplace rules.
Here is a brief summary of the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA")
1. Applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
2. Prohibits discrimination against a “qualified individual with a disability.” A qualified disabled employee is one who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position in question, without posing a direct threat to the safety of himself or others.
3. There are three ways to meet the definition of a disabled person under the ADA. First, a person with a substantial limitation of a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, or working) is disabled. Second, a person with a record of such an impairment is disabled (e.g., past history of cancer). Third, an individual who is “regarded” as disabled is protected by the ADA, even though they may not have a substantial limitation of a major life activity.
4. The ADA excludes from its coverage individuals with certain disorders, including compulsive gamblers, kleptomaniacs, current illegal drug users, and current users of alcohol who cannot perform their job duties or whose employment presents a threat to the property or safety of others.
5. The ADA does not provide protection for individuals with impairments applicable to a single job or to those with temporary, non-chronic injuries.
6. The ADA imposes a duty on employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to qualified disabled applicants or employees unless the accommodation would pose an undue hardship. The reasonable accommodation must remove workplace barriers, which can include either physical obstacles (inaccessible facilities or equipment) or work procedures or rules (when or where work is performed, when breaks are taken, or how tasks are accomplished).
7. There are an unlimited number of possible accommodations, including leave of absence for treatment; job restructuring; etc.
8. Generally, it is the employee's duty under the ADA to first request an accommodation.
9. A reasonable accommodation does not include waiving discipline. An employer is entitled to hold all employees (those with and without disabilities) to the same performance and conduct standards.
10. The ADA prohibits employers from disclosing an employee's medical information (with limited exceptions). However, the mere fact that someone is receiving reasonable accommodation is not necessarily medical information. The safest approach is not to disclose the fact of reasonable accommodation to other employees, except to those with a “need-to-know.”
If you are an employer, understanding ADA rules will help you avoid legal consequences. Violations of ADA requirements can result in various penalties, including citations, business license restrictions, fines, and injunctions requiring the business to remedy the conditions.
Also, violation of the ADA’s reasonable accommodation obligations can expose employers to damages for the lost wages of a disabled employee who was denied such an accommodation, and for any compensation due to the pain and suffering that such employees may have experienced due to the failure to comply with the ADA’s rules.
To safeguard against such consequences, knowing how to comply with the ADA and to engage in the interactive process with a qualified disabled employee to evaluate any request for reasonable accommodation is a must for any employer in today’s workplace.
(Miguel Escalera is a partner at the labor and employment law firm of Kainen, Escalera & McHale in Hartford, Connecticut. To learn more about the author visit his website.)
Read other Friday Focus columns.
Friday Focus is an online-only weekly series of columns focusing on human resource, business legal issues, technology, and marketing. Interested in participating? Send an email to Keith Griffin at kgriffin@hartfordbusiness.com.
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