Employment Rights & the Disability Discrimination Act

The EEOC administers and oversees the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Businesses with 20 or more employees must provide disabled individuals with job opportunities if they are qualified for their positions. Affirmative action laws require businesses to hire and promote disabled individuals who can work with reasonable accommodation.

Identification

Under Titles I and V of the amended Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), private sector employers can't discriminate against individuals who are qualified to perform the essential job duties.

Features

Employers may not ask applicants about their disability. However, employers may ask job applicants whether the applicant can perform the necessary job duties. Employers may not base employment upon a medical exam unless it is required for all other applicants and is related to the necessary job duties.

Applicants who can perform the requirements of a vacant position, with reasonable modification, are considered qualified. If the employer will not be unduly impacted financially, then the employer must provide those job accommodations.

Prevention/Solution

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission administers and oversees the ADA.

Employers who discriminate against disabled applicants may be sanctioned by a federal court with fines, job reinstatement of aggrieved workers or other corrective action.

References

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination

Resources

• U.S. Department of Justice: Americans with Disabilities Act