Employers and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

Why should employers learn more about the ADA?

As an employer, it is important to be familiar with the ADA and the reasonable accommodation process. Increasing your understanding of disability issues and rights is key to ensuring equal access to employment and creating an inclusive workplace. Some employers may have common misconceptions about hiring workers with disabilities, such as inaccurate concerns about high costs for accommodations. Others may have negative attitudes about disability more generally. Learning the facts about the law and workers with disabilities are important steps to foster a disability-inclusive workplace.

What is the ADA?

The ADA is a key civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in most areas of community life, including employment.

What is the definition of disability under the ADA?

The ADA defines a person with a disability as someone who:

Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or
Has a history or record of an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or
Is regarded as having such an impairment by others even if the individual does not actually have a disability (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn that does not limit any major life activity).

What are my rights and responsibilities under the ADA?

Title I of the ADA

Title I of the ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities from employment discrimination. Employers with 15 or more employees, and all state and local government employers, have responsibilities under Title I of the ADA. The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment practices, including hiring, firing, pay, training, promotions, and more. As an employer, you are responsible for making reasonable accommodations, unless this would cause “undue hardship” (a significant difficulty or expense) or a “direct threat” (a significant risk of substantial harm).

What is a reasonable accommodation?

A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that creates equal access for an employee with a disability. For example, a reasonable accommodation may include modifying an employee’s work schedule, providing alternate formats of communication, or adjusting policies such as a “no pet” policy to allow service animals. The process of determining reasonable accommodations is informal and should be an interactive and dynamic discussion between the employee and employer. The conversation is generally initiated by the individual with a disability.

Other important concepts to know

Undue hardship is a defense when an accommodation cannot be provided due to the cost or negative impact on the operations of an entity.

Based on the U.S Equal Opportunity Employment Commission guidelines, employers may request medical documentation when the disability and/or need for accommodation is not known or obvious. However, medical documentation is not required to provide an accommodation.

If you have any questions about the reasonable accommodation process, undue hardship, medical documentation requests, or any other aspect of employment and the ADA, contact your regional ADA Center.

Where can I learn more?

Other resources

ADA National Network: Employment Resource Hub: adata.org/employment-resource-hub
ADA National Network: Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace: adainfo.us/accommodations
Department of Labor: Employers’ Responsibilities: dol.gov/general/topic/disability/employersresponsibilities
Job Accommodation Network: Employers’ Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): askjan.org/publications/employers/employers-guide.cfm
Office of Disability Employment: Employers and the ADA: dol.gov/agencies/odep/publications/fact-sheets/americans-with-disabilities-act
U.S Equal Opportunity Employment Commission: The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer: eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-responsibilities-employer

Suggested Citation: Horowitz, E., Garcia-Torres, M., Gonzalez, O., Parker Harris, S., Gould, R., Porter, M., and Harniss, M. (2024). Employers and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Chicago, IL and Seattle, WA. ADA National Network Knowledge Translation Center.

Content was developed via the ADANN Spanish Language Outreach project, and is based on professional consensus of ADA experts and the ADA National Network.

The content of this product was developed under grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant numbers 90DPAD0004, 90DPAD0011, 90DPAD0003, 90DPAD0008, 90DPAD0005, 90DPAD0012, 90DPAD0010, 90DPAD0007, 90DPAD0014, 90DPAD0006, and 90DPAD0002). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this product do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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