Employment Rights for the Disabled

What Counts as a Disability?

• The Americans with Disabilities Act protects discrimination against those with disabilities, but only certain people qualify as falling into this category. If you have a condition that substantially limits a major life activity, you are considered disabled under the ADA. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, anything that limits your ability to see, hear, speak, walk or perform manual tasks or speak, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  
  

What Is an Employer Prevented from Doing?

• Employers are prevented from discriminating against workers who have a disability, or even those whom the employer believes or suspects has a disability. Employers cannot use your disability to discriminate against you at any stage of employment. This includes the recruitment process, interviews and hiring, training and educational opportunities, promotions as well as pay and benefits. Also, employers cannot retaliate or discriminate against you if you assert your rights under the ADA.
  
  

What Can the Employer Ask Me When I am Interviewed?

• Employers are prohibited from using your disability against you in the hiring process and cannot ask you medical questions or include such questions on a job application. If you have an obvious and evident disability, the employer can ask you to explain how you could perform essential job functions in light of your condition and can ask you about medical conditions after you've been offered the job and accepted it.
  
  

What Is a Reasonable Accommodation?

• When an employer hires a person with a disability, or has an employee who has or who develops a disability, the employer has as duty to provide reasonable accommodations that will allow the employee to perform her job duties. These accommodations vary depending on the employee and the job requirements, but include providing specialized office equipment or materials, reassigning the worker to a job position that better suits her abilities or providing flexible work hours and scheduling.