Disability and Workplace Accomodations

She required a different schedule than her co-workers in the same position. His station was equipped with a customized unit. There were simple modifications to access the building’s exterior and interior.

Happy National Disability Employment Disability Awareness Month!

Chances are there is someone you work with or you may have a disability that results in a workplace accommodation.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities and to provide the same employment opportunities to them. Protection under the Act extends to those with a disability, which is defined by the Act as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

Title I of the Act prohibits private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in the following:

employment application procedures;

hiring and firing;

advancement and promotion;

compensation and wages; and

job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

A disability is only a disability if you allow others to see you as the disability and not see you.

PC: Tim Mossholder