The following is excerpted from our ADA Training & Certification Program:

Basic Requirements For Employers

The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees on 20 or more calendar work weeks in the current or preceding year.

Employers covered by the ADA must make sure those individuals with disabilities have an equal opportunity to apply for jobs and to work in jobs for which they are qualified.

Employers must provide an equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities to be promoted once they are working. Employers also must provide equal access to benefits and privileges of employment that are offered to other employees, such as employer-provided health insurance or training, and ensure that individuals with disabilities are not harassed because of their disability.

Employers are not required to create new jobs for individuals with disabilities, although nothing in the regulations prohibits an employer from so doing.

In other words, employers may not discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of that disability. The term "discriminate" includes:

• Limiting, segregating, or classifying a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects the opportunities or status of such applicant or employee because of the disability of such applicant or employee
• Participating in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting a covered entity's qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by this subchapter (such relationship includes a relationship with an employment or referral agency, labor union, an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the covered entity, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs)
• Utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration that have the effect of discrimination because of disability; or that perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative control
• Excluding or otherwise denying equal jobs or benefits to a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a relationship or association

Related Links

• ADA Training & Certification Program
• FMLA Training & Certification Program
• COBRA Training & Certification Program
• Integrating FMLA, ADA, COBRA & Workers' Comp Training & Certification Program
• FMLA & ADA Certificate Program