ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

A federal civil rights law prohibiting employment discrimination against people with disabilities and requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990 and significantly strengthened by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), is one of the most important workplace civil rights statutes in the United States. It prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment: hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, job assignments, training, and any other condition or privilege of employment. It applies to private employers with 15 or more employees, as well as state and local governments.

The ADA's definition of disability is broader than most people assume, and the 2008 amendments expanded it further. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities — which includes walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, concentrating, communicating, and caring for oneself, among others. Critically, the ADA also protects people with a history of disability (a cancer survivor who is now healthy) and people who are regarded as having a disability (someone perceived as having a condition even if they don't). You do not need to be visibly or severely impaired to qualify for ADA protection.

The most practically significant ADA obligation for most employees is the right to reasonable accommodations. Employers are legally required to provide changes to the work environment or how a job is performed that allow a qualified employee with a disability to do their job — unless doing so would impose an 'undue hardship' on the employer. What constitutes undue hardship is evaluated case by case, relative to the employer's size and resources. A multi-billion dollar corporation claiming undue hardship to avoid buying a $500 piece of adaptive equipment will not get far in court.

The ADA strictly limits what employers can ask about disabilities before a job offer. Pre-offer, employers cannot ask whether you have a disability or require a medical examination. Post-offer, they can require medical exams if all candidates in that role are required to take them. Once you're employed, they can only ask disability-related questions if they're job-related and consistent with business necessity. This framework is designed to prevent disability status from affecting hiring decisions before an employer has evaluated your qualifications.