Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action
Frequently Asked Questions About Disabilities In The Workplace
Americans With Disabilities Act Definitions
Individual with a disability
---- Any person who has or who has acquired a physical or mental impairment or who has a history of such an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as, self-care, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing or working.
Qualified individual with a disability
---- An individual with a disability whose experience, education and/or training enables the person with or without reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.
Essential function
---- the ADA covers only qualified individuals with disabilities. Determining the essential functions of a position is critical in evaluating whether or not a person with a disability is qualified for the position he or she holds. If an individual with a disability can perform the essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, he or she may be considered qualified for the position held. EEOC regulations define essential function as the fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds. Marginal duties are not included.
Q. What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
A.The ADA is a civil rights law which makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.
Q. Who is protected under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)?
A. If you have a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA protects you from job discrimination on the basis of your disability. Under the ADA, you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity such as seeing, hearing, walking, standing, sitting and learning. The ADA also protects you if you have a history of such a disability, or if an employer believes that you have such a disability, even if you don't. To be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of, or be regarded as having a substantial, as opposed to a minor, impairment. A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, learning or working. If you have a disability, you must also be qualified to perform the essential functions or duties of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation, in order to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA. This means two things. First, you must satisfy the employer's requirements for the job, such as education, employment experience, skills or licenses. Second, you must be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. Essential functions are the fundamental job duties that you must be able to perform on your own or with the help of a reasonable accommodation. An employer cannot refuse to hire you because your disability prevents you from performing duties that are not essential to the job.
Q. What is a reasonable accommodation?
A. A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show that the accommodation would be an undue hardship -- that is, that it would require significant difficulty or expense.
Q. Do I have to pay for a needed reasonable accommodation?
A. No. The ADA requires that the employer provide the accommodation unless to do so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. If the cost of providing the needed accommodation would be an undue hardship, the employee must be given the choice of providing the accommodation or paying for the portion of the accommodation that causes the undue hardship.
Q. Can an employer lower my salary or pay me less than other employees doing the same job because I need a reasonable accommodation?
A. No. An employer cannot make up the cost of providing a reasonable accommodation by lowering your salary or paying you less than other employees in similar positions
Q. Are people with AIDS covered by the ADA?
A. Yes. The legislative history indicates that Congress intended the ADA to protect persons with AIDS and HIV disease from discrimination.
Q. Do Individuals Who Use Drugs Illegally Have Rights Under the ADA?
A. Anyone who is currently using drugs illegally is not protected by the ADA and may be denied employment or fired on the basis of such use. The ADA does not prevent employers from testing applicants or employees for current illegal drug use.
Q. How do employees with disabilities request a workplace accommodation at BSU?
A. Employees who wish to request an accommodation should begin the process by informing their immediate supervisors for the need for accommodation. This should be followed by completing the Request for Accommodation form and scheduling an appointment with the Director of EEO/Affirmative Action.
Q. Will employees with disabilities be asked to provide verification of their disability, if they request an accommodation?
A. Yes. The EEO/AA Director will prepare a letter to the employee's healthcare provider. This letter will ask the provider to identify the disability, to estimate the expected duration of the disability, and to make suggestions for accommodation. In order for the healthcare provider to be able to make these suggestions, he or she will be provided with a description of the job that identifies the essential job functions and the physical and mental requirements required. The employee will be asked to deliver the letter to the Physician with a copy of the Request for Accommodation form which authorizes the healthcare provider to provide the requested information.
Q. How will the requested workplace accommodation be evaluated?
A. Upon receipt of the information from the healthcare provider, the ADA committee which consists of the EEO/AA Director, the Benefits Manager and the Associate Director of Human Resources will meet to determine if the condition is a disability under the law. They will then determine whether the requested workplace accommodation is appropriate and feasible and whether it will be effective in assisting the employee with the essential functions of the particular job.
Q. What if the condition is not a disability under the ADA?
A. Although a condition may not be a disability under the law, it is possible that it may be protected under a variety of state or federal provisions (such as the Family Medical Leave Act or Worker's Compensation) and that leaves of absence may taken relative to those laws.
Q. Where is an employee's disability-related information kept?
A. The EEO/Affirmative Action Office will maintain files on all employees who request disability accommodation. These are confidential files which will be kept separate from the employee's HR file or the employee's Benefits file.
Last reviewed July 2007