Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Title I: Employment

Title I requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Employers may hire, fire, and promote the most qualified individual, regardless of his/her disability. Title I covers all aspects of the hiring process, including posting of available positions, interviewing, job offers, and hiring. It requires all employers to make necessary reasonable accommodations for known disabilities of a qualified applicant or employee, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Examples of reasonable accommodations include modification of work schedules, altering a workspace, restructuring job duties, and reassignment. Tax credits may be available for employers that comply with the law.

Title I prohibits employers from giving pre-employment medical exams or inquiries to determine if an individual is disabled. It also prohibits the use of employment tests and other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out individuals with disabilities unless the tests are shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity. Employers must also keep results of any medical exams confidential. The law permits employers to inquire about the ability of a job applicant or employee to perform essential job-related functions at any time.

Title I complaints may be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the enforcement agency for Title I. The EEOC can be contacted to file a complaint by calling 800-669-4000 (V) or 800-669-6820 (TTY).

For more information contact the National ADA Network at 800-949-4232.