ADA Article - Manager's Overview of the Americans With Disabilities Act

The ADA prohibits employment discrimination in almost all enterprises with 15 or more workers. It protects from discrimination any individual with �a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities� as well as anyone with �a record of such an impairment,� and �anyone regarded as having such an impairment.� Individuals with obvious disabilities are, of course, protected, but many disabilities that aren�t obvious are too, such as hearing loss, mental illness, learning disabilities, eating disorders, and, in some cases, obesity. Those who use illegal drugs aren�t protected, but former substance abusers who successfully complete rehabilitation are. Alcohol abuse is a protected disability and employers are expected to accommodate those who suffer from alcoholism, although courts have put quite a few limits on this. Compliance with ADA requires understanding of some key terms, as follows:

• A qualified individual with a disability is anyone who has the skills, experience, and education required for the job and can perform the job�s essential functions, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Essential functions of the job are �the primary job duties that are intrinsic� to the position. These are elements of the job that must actually be performed. If they were removed, the job would be different. On the other hand, if some of the job functions could be redistributed to co-workers, then that function might not be considered essential.

• Reasonable accommodation is �any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.� An obvious example is raising the height of a desk so that a wheelchair would roll under it. Another example is allowing an employee with diabetes to take more frequent breaks to monitor blood sugar and/or eat required snacks. In some instances, transferring an employee with a disability to another position might be considered reasonable accommodation. An employee can also ask for leave as a reasonable accommodation, such as time off from work for treatment. However, no accommodation is required that would impose an �undue hardship� on the employer. Whether an accommodation imposes an �undue hardship� is not something any manager should decide on his or her own, at least not without significant research as to how this term is defined by the EEOC, a subject beyond the scope of this article.

• A condition is not considered a disability under the ADA unless it interferes with a major life activity. Major life activities include caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, thinking, concentrating, and interacting with others. As with other areas, this is a decision made on a case-by-case basis. The EEOC gives the example of a person with diabetes. For some people, it doesn�t interfere with any of their major life activities. But for those who must test their blood, eat on a regular schedule, and must also regulate the type of work they do, the disease does limit the major life activities of working and eating, so they would be considered to have a disability under the ADA.

Managers would love to have cut-and-dried, black and white lists of what disabilities are covered by the ADA and which accommodations are reasonable and which are not. But this is impossible. The ADA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the courts have supplied general guidelines, but each case must be decided on an individual basis. Thus, the employer cannot simply make a list of diseases or conditions that are covered and not covered. The employer also has to avoid inflexible rules on such matters as medical leave, breaks, or attendance if the enforcement of such a rule would violate a disabled employee�s right to reasonable accommodation. There is one requested accommodation, however, that has been deemed unreasonable: the request for a different supervisor.

When an employee asks for accommodation of a disability it is the sign that the employer must begin what the ADA calls the �interactive process� to determine an appropriate reasonable accommodation. This involves a discussion about the employee�s disability, present job, and possible accommodations that would enable the employee to perform the essential functions of the present job or any other job opening in the company. Doctors� recommendations and other information can and should be used in this process.

In some circumstances, it is not necessary for an employee to ask for accommodation for the employer to be deemed to know about the disability. For example, if an employee suffered seizures at work and was fired, it might be inferred that the employer was aware that the employee had a disability and the firing could be a violation of the ADA. In general, though, employers shouldn�t make any assumptions about employees� disabilities. If an employee states that he or she can do a job without accommodation, the employer is not supposed to assume otherwise or to make any effort to provide accommodation. If an employee reveals a disability to you, you should ask whether the employee believes the disability will interfere with his or her ability to do the job. If the employee says no, that is the final word. If, however, the employee�s productivity or performance falters, you might again ask the employee whether an accommodation is desired. If the employee refuses the offer, he or she should be judged exactly as any other employee with similar performance problems�unless you can make a convincing case that the person�s condition has a high risk of harming others.

About the Author

Myron Curry is President and CEO of BusinessTrainingMedia.com a leading provider of workforce and business development training programs designed exclusively for corporate deployment. Myron has over 20 years of successful management experience with leading fortune 500 companies and has written numerous articles about workforce management issues. You can contact Myron at: myron@business-marketing.com or visit his company's website http://www.businesstrainingmedia.com

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