If you are a disabled individual in the United States, this article will provide you with a short course in your rights and responsibilities regarding employment under the ADA.
Who is Covered?
The ADA definition of a person with a disability is very specific. You meet this definition if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of your major life activities. Examples of major life activities include walking, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, learning, caring for yourself, working, lifting, reading, etc. The ADA also protects individuals who have a record of such an impairment or are regarded as having such an impairment.
To be protected in employment matters by the ADA, you must not only be an individual with a disability, but you also must be qualified to perform the job. Under the ADA, "qualified" means:
1) You have the necessary prerequisites to perform the job. Prerequisites may include education, work experience, training, skills, licenses, certifications, etc., and
2) You can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without "reasonable accommodation".
Essential Functions
You can think of essential functions as those tasks which employees in the position actually are required to perform, and which, if removed, would fundamentally change the job.
For example, if you are hired to proofread documents, the ability to proofread accurately is an essential function because this is the reason this job exists.
A task may also be essential to a job because there are a limited number of other employees available to perform the function. For example, as a file clerk, your job may include answering the telephone. If there are only three employees in this very busy office and no one else is available to handle the phones, then this task is essential to your job.
In addition, a skill which is highly specialized may be essential to a given job. To illustrate, assume your company is expanding to the Japanese market. A sales position may require special expertise, such as the ability to communicate fluently in Japanese to develop sales contracts overseas, and therefore this ability is an essential function of this job.
What is Covered?
Employers can't discriminate against people with disabilities in any employment practices or terms. This prohibition covers all aspects of the employment process, including:
