The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by Congress in 1990. It covers companies with 15 or more employees. Pregnant workers cannot be discriminated against.  The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide leaves. Health and safety (OSHA) regulations and workers compensation protect every employee.

Read below for a general overview of this issue, or click here to see FAQs.

The ADA protects people who have a permanent (long-term) and substantial impairment of a major life function, like walking, seeing or breathing. It does not cover minor or temporary disabilities. As applied by the courts, the federal definition of the ADA is very restrictive and employers win an overwhelming number of the litigated cases.

It also applies to people who have a history of being disabled. For example, a woman manager who had breast cancer returned to work with the disease in remission. She was not disabled. But her boss said she would never get anywhere in the company because she was “weak.” This is discrimination based on her history of disability. However, an employer is entitled to enforce its neutral conduct rules, even if that adversely affects a disabled employee.

People who are mistakenly perceived as being disabled also are protected under the ADA. For example, an employer might assume that people who are obese can’t keep up the pace. This is an assumption based on stereotypical perceptions. If an employer discriminates on this basis, it probably is illegal under the ADA.

Finally, people who take care of or are related to people with disabilities are covered. For example, if an employer knows that an employee does volunteer work with terminal AIDS patients, it cannot fire that employee because of his association with AIDS patients. Or, suppose an applicant tells her interviewer that her husband is disabled. If she is the most qualified, she must be hired; the employer cannot simply assume that she will have to miss work, leave work early, or both, and cannot consider the impact of adding a disabled dependent to its insurance plan. However, if a non-disabled employee violates a neutral employer policy on attendance or tardiness, he or she can be dismissed, even if the reason for the absence or tardiness is to care for a disabled relative or friend.

Some states also protect people with disabilities. These states may have a broader definition of disability than the ADA. California, for example, protects people with impairments that limit, but don’t substantially limit, a major life function. New York and New Jersey don’t require any life function limitation.

As you look through this web site and consider the many things written about disabilities, remember your state may have a broader definition. Also, disability law may interact in many complex ways with family and medical leave, workers’ compensation and other laws. For this reason, always check with an attorney before taking an adverse employment action against a person with a disability.

Click here for Disability Law FAQs.