The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability.  Job discrimination against people with disabilities is illegal if practiced by private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations, and labor-management committees.

Title I of the ADA, the employment provisions of the law, applies to all employers with 15 or more employees.  It is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

It is unlawful to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in all employment practices including, but not limited to:
• Recruitment            
• Hiring
• Promotion
• Training
• Leave
• Benefits

The employee or applicant must satisfy your job requirements for educational background, employment experience, skills, or licenses and must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.  The ADA does NOT impose any affirmative action obligations on employers.

What is a reasonable accommodation?

Reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified individual with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of the job, or to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities.

Examples include, but are not limited to:  acquiring special equipment, job restructuring, modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position for which a person is qualified, making the workplace physically accessible.

It is a violation of the ADA to fail to provide reasonable accommodation for a known disability of a qualified employee, unless doing so imposes an undue hardship on the operation of your business.

Available Tax Credits

Tax credits, established under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code, were created in 1990 specifically to help small businesses cover ADA-related eligible access expenditures.  These credits may be used to cover the cost of providing certain reasonable accommodations for employees.  For more details…(Link to Fact Sheet 4)