Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Purpose

ADA extends civil rights to people with disabilities similar to those available to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What does ADA do?

ADA is modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in private sector employment, services rendered by state and local governments, places of public accommodation, transportation, telecommunications and relay services. Our focus will be on employment which is Title I of the law.

Who is protected under ADA?

Under ADA a person has a disability, if he/she has a substantial physical or mental impairment, has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment, even if he/she is not continuously impaired by the disability, (ex. random epileptic attacks), or have a personal relationship with someone with a known disability. Personal relationships are not limited to family members.

A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity. It includes conditions controlled by medication such as epilepsy or depression or those mitigated by a prosthetic device. A major life activity includes:

What impairments are protected by ADA?

Examples of impairments or disabilities that will be protected by ADA are:

*ADA protects individuals who are recovering from alcoholism or drug addiction, if they are participating in a supervised rehabilitation program or have been rehabilitated successfully.

What is not protected?

In most cases, temporary or nondisabling impairments, environmental conditions and alternative lifestyles are not protected. A person currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs is not considered an individual with a disability. This refers both to the illegal use of unlawful drugs such as cocaine as well as prescription drugs. Examples of conditions which are not covered under ADA:

What are the obligations of the Supervisor/Institution?

You are obligated as a supervisor to:

• Determine essential job functions based on a written job description prior to advertising.

 
• Provide reasonable accommodation as long as it does not result in undue hardship.

 
• Adhere to nondiscriminatory hiring practices as outlined in University policy and the ADA laws.

How are essential functions determined?

Supervisors use the formal job description and biomechanical job analysis to determine the essential functions, which are defined as the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform with or without reasonable accommodation. Factors to consider are:

• Whether the reason the position exists is to perform that function.
  
  
• The number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the performance of the function can be distributed.
  
  
• The degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function.
  
  
• The amount of time spent on the job performing the function.
  
  
• The consequences of not requiring the incumbent to perform the function.
  
  
• The work experience of incumbents in similar jobs.

See Guide to Writing Essential Functions.

Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified applicant with a disability to perform essential functions of the job or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. Reasonable accommodation may include:

• Acquiring 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 or interpreters

 
• Making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.