Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title 1
Title 1 protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination
in employment.
Whom does the ADA protect?
The ADA protects "individuals with disabilities" from discrimination. An
individuals with a disability is someone who fits into one of the three categories
by having:
- A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more
major life activities. A "substantial impairment" is long term and has a
serious impact on a person's ability to function. "Major life activities"
include walking, talking, hearing, seeing, working, caring for oneself,
learning and speaking. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair for mobility
or a person who is blind.
- A record of such an impairment. A person who ha recovered from an illness,
such as cancer, that substantially limited one or more major life activities.
- An individual who is regarded as having such an impairment. Examples include:
a person with epilepsy treated with medication or a person who tested positive
for HIV.
Who is excluded from Protection?
Individuals with certain conditions or characteristics are not protected
under the ADA, including:
- Someone engaged in current, illegal drug use. However, there are exceptions:
if they have completed a supervised rehabilitation program, or have otherwise
been rehabilitated and are no longer using illegal drugs; if they are in
a supervised rehabilitation program and are no longer using illegal drugs;
or if they are mistakenly regarded as using illegal drugs.
- Homosexuals and bisexuals are not considered to have disabilities based
on their sexual orientation.
- Other "conditions" specifically excluded are: transvestitism, transexualism,
pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting
from physical impairments, other sexual disorders, compulsive gambling,
kleptomania, pyromania and psychoactive disorders resulting from the current
use of illegal drugs.
Title 1, Employment Discrimination
Title 1 of the ADA includes some of the following rules to which employer
must adhere.
Who is covered?
Private businesses with 25 or more employees prior to July 26, 1994, after
which the law applies to all private businesses with 15 or more employees.
Who is protected?
A qualified individual with a disability, meaning someone who meets the
experience and other job related requirements and who can perform the essential
functions with or without reasonable accommodation creates an undue hardship,
meaning that it is difficult or expensive to provide.
Before Hiring
- An employer may ask questions about the applicant's ability to perform
specific job functions.
- Questions about a disability or the severity of a disability may not be
asked.
- An employer may ask ALL applicants to demonstrate how they would perform
the job with or without a reasonable accommodation. However, an applicant
with a known disability that may interfere with performance may be asked
to describe or demonstrate how they would do the job even if others are
not so required.
Conditional Offers of Employment
Reasonable accommodations are changes to the work environment that enable
the person to perform the job. An employer does not have to provide a reasonable
accommodation if it would result in an undue hardship. An undue hardship is
something that is difficult or expensive in relation to several factors, including:
- The nature and net cost of the accommodation.
- The financial resources for the employer, including the size of the business,
the number of employees and the corporate structure.
- The type of business operation, including structure and functions of the
workforce, and the administrative and fiscal relationship between the corporation
and franchises or subsidiaries.
Examples of reasonable accommodations
- Making facilities accessible to an usable by person with disabilities.
- Job restructuring by reallocating and/or redistributing nonessential job
functions.
- Part-time or modified work schedules.
- Obtaining or modifying equipment.
- Modifying testing materials and practices.
- Providing qualified readers or interpreters.
- Reassignment to a vacant position.
- Permitting use of accrued paid leave or unpaid leave for treatment.
- Reserved parking.
- Allowing an employee to provide equipment that the employer is not required
to provide.
Request for reasonable accommodations should be made in writing whenever
possible. Documentation about an individual's disability may be requested,
but must be kept confidential.
Sources of Information
Employment Discrimination
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
ADA Legal Services
1801 L Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20507
1-800-669-EEOC
1-800-800-3302 (TDD)
Florida Commission on Human Relations
325 John Knox Road
Suite 240, Bldg. F
Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4149
(850) 488-7082
1-800-342-8170
The Client Assistance Program
Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc.
2671 Executive Center Circle, West, Suite 100
Tallahassee, Florida 32301-5024
1-800-342-0823 (Voice)
1-800-346-4127 (TDD)
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