Understanding the ADA and how it applies to your office will help you and your organization.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is intended to
enhance and protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in all life
activities and to provide clear, consistent, enforceable standards for
addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
A disability under the ADA is defined as a known physical or
mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of an individual’s
major life activities. Individuals are also entitled to protection under the
law if they have a record of such an impairment, are regarded as having such an
impairment but who are not disabled, or have an association of an individual
with a disability.
The Act is comprised of five separate titles which prohibit discrimination
in employment, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications,
as well as several other miscellaneous areas. Title I, employment, and Title
II, public accommodations, have the greatest impact on employees and job
applicants.
The employment title ensures that qualified individuals with
disabilities, including both applicants and current employees, have available
to them the same employment opportunities as people without disabilities. It
includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
- Hiring (application procedures, recruitment, etc.)
- Promotion and transfers
- Discharge (layoffs, terminations, rehires, etc.)
- All forms of compensation
- Job training
- Fringe benefits
- Job descriptions/classification
- All leaves of absence
- Other aspects of employment
When working with a quailed individual with a disability,
employers are required to determine whether there are any reasonable
accommodations that could be made which would allow the individual to compete
on the same level as those without disabilities.
Having an understanding of the ADA requirements will enable
you to properly implement those requirements into your organization.
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