This section provides answers to basic questions about Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Most of the answers come from formal and informal guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces Title I of the ADA. When available, links to the EEOC guidance are provided.
The ADA is a federal civil rights law that was passed in 1990 and went into effect beginning in 1992. Its purpose is to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in employment, in the programs and activities offered by state and local governments, and in accessing the goods and services offered in places like stores, hotels, restaurants, football stadiums, doctors’ offices, beauty parlors, and so on. For more information about the ADA, see the JAN's ADA Library.
The focus of this guide is Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in employment and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. For more information about Title I of the ADA, see JAN's ADA Library.
The term essential job functions means the fundamental job duties of the employment position that the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term essential functions does not include marginal functions of the position.
Only “covered entities” must comply with Title I of the ADA. The term covered entities includes private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local government employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-management committees. For simplicity, this guide will refer to covered entities as “employers.”
The focus of this guide is Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in employment and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. For more information about Title I of the ADA, see JAN's ADA Library.
The term essential job functions means the fundamental job duties of the employment position that the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term essential functions does not include marginal functions of the position.
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Title I protects “qualified employees with disabilities.” The term qualified means that the individual satisfies the skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of the position sought or held, and can perform the essential job functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.
The term employee means, "an individual employed by an employer." The question of whether an employer-employee relationship exists is fact-specific and depends on whether the employer controls the means and manner of the worker's work performance.
The term disability means: (1) a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) a person with a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and (3) a person who is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
On September 25, 2008, the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) was passed. This Act changed the interpretation of the definition of disability. For additional information on the ADAAA, visit JAN's A to Z on the ADAAA.
The term essential job functions means the fundamental job duties of the employment position that the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term essential functions does not include marginal functions of the position.
The focus of this guide is Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in employment and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. For more information about Title I of the ADA, see JAN's ADA Library.
The term essential job functions means the fundamental job duties of the employment position that the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term essential functions does not include marginal functions of the position.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things usually are done that enables a qualified individual with a disability to enjoy an equal employment opportunity. An equal employment opportunity means an opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are available to an average similarly-situated employee without a disability. The ADA requires reasonable accommodation in three aspects of employment: 1) to ensure equal opportunity in the application process, 2) to enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job, and 3) to enable an employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.
Examples of reasonable accommodations include making existing facilities accessible; job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedules; acquiring or modifying equipment; changing tests, training materials, or policies; providing qualified readers or interpreters; and reassignment to a vacant position.