As a business owner or manager, it is often difficult to determine what is appropriate when hiring and managing individuals with a disability. Likewise, employees should be aware of the laws that protect against disability discrimination.
Title 1 of the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Amendments Act) emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis. The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) ADA regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.
Also, the ADA requires employers to reasonably accommodate a particular applicant’s or employee’s known disabilities to the specific duties of a particular job under certain circumstances, and to not inquire about unknown disabilities or use stereotypes regarding medical conditions.
And all of that is just the tip of the iceberg, says Joanne Tegethoff, an account executive with JRG Advisors, the management company for ChamberChoice. Because of this, employers would be well served to be fully educated and informed about the ADA.
“There are many concerns regarding disability discrimination and the ADA regulations,” says Tegethoff. “One of the biggest questions I get from small business owners is how the ADA regulations will impact their business decisions.”
Smart Business spoke with Tegethoff about the ADA, hiring and managing individuals with a disability, and what to be aware of when it comes to disability discrimination.
