fun slides americans with disabilites act (ada) (adaaa)

on ADA

Which Employers Are Covered?

O Those with 15 or more employees

O Persons: O with a physical or mental impairment that substantially

limits one or more major life activities

O with a record of such an impairment

O regarded as having such an impairment

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Which Employees Are Eligible?

What is prohibited under ADA?

O Discrimination against individuals with a

disability

O Discrimination against an individual

perceived to have an impairment

O Discrimination based on a person’s

relationship to a disabled individual

O Retaliation or harassment for exercising

ADA rights


What are “Major Life Activities?”

O Breathing, seeing, hearing, sitting, standing,

walking, learning, lifting, bending, reading,

thinking, performing manual tasks, working,

circulatory and reproductive functions, among

many other activities.


What are Employers Requirements?

O Employers must provide a reasonable

accommodation to a disabled individual

upon request.

O What is a “reasonable accommodation?”

O A modification that allows the person to

perform the job’s essential functions

O An accommodation that would cause

“undue hardship” for the employer need

not be provided


Essential Functions & Job Descriptions

O Job descriptions should clearly identify essential functions, including physical requirements

O Essential job functions are the fundamental duties of a position: the things a person holding the job absolutely must be able to do. Essential job functions are used to determine the rights of an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

O As long as the employee can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation, the employee is protected from discrimination by the ADA.

O This is why the labeling of job functions as “essential” or “nonessential” is so important. If a function is truly essential, and an applicant or employee cannot perform it even with a reasonable accommodation, then that person is not qualified.


ADAAA Additions O The ADA Amendments Act overturned several Supreme Court

decisions that Congress felt interpreted “disability” too narrowly and expressly states that it should be interpreted in favor of broad coverage

O The ADAAA adopted “rules of construction” for determining when an individual is “substantially limited in performing a major life activity” O “Substantially limits” is construed broadly and requires a lower

degree of functional limitation than the previous standard

O Individual assessments are required to determine whether a condition substantially limits a major activity

O Mitigating measure such as medication or hearing aids can’t be considered with the exception of glasses and contact lenses

O Episodic or remission conditions constitute disabilities if they substantially limit a major life activity


ADA Protection for Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation

O The ADA protects:

O Rehabilitated drug users

O Drug users currently in rehabilitation

O Alcoholics

O The employer may still hold the above to the same performance standards as other employees.

O The ADA does not protect current users of illegal drugs.


Job Offers & The ADA

O Pre-offer: No medical exams and no

inquiries regarding disability, perceived

disability, workers’ comp history, absence

related to illness or prior drug/alcohol use

O Post-offer: medical exams are acceptable

only if required of similarly situated

employees


Voluntary Self ID of Disability Form

(Form CC-305) O To promote hiring of persons with disabilities. This form is designed

to help federal contractors and subcontractors meet the new Section 503 regulations, which sets a target of a seven percent workforce comprised of employees with disabilities.

O The self-identification requirements are broken down into two separate parts: Pre-Offer and Post- Offer.

O Pre-Offer: contractors are now required to ask applicants about their protected veteran and disability status. This invitation to self-identity may be provided at the same time that race and gender information are solicited from job seekers.

O Post-Offer: contractors on-boarding a new employee will need to ask again for race, gender, veteran and disability status.

O The Workforce must be surveyed every year for changes in Disability status.

O See Form Retention in the next slide.


What Records Must Be Retained?

O Covered employers must retain personnel or employment records they made or keep them for one year from the date the record was made or from when an action was taken, whichever is later.

O Self ID Form: Under OFCCP’s new regulations, completed self-identification forms must be kept in a separate “data analysis file.” This file can be your HRIS or payroll system as long as the following requirements are met: O disability-related data must be stored securely, apart from other

personnel information, so that confidentiality is maintained

O access to this data must be limited solely to contractor personnel who have a need to know the information for the purpose of complying with OFCCP’s regulations

O The contractor must not keep the disability self-identification forms in the employee’s medical file.


Required Posting

O EEO is the Law” Poster O The law requires an employer to post a notice describing the

Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, equal pay, disability or genetic information.

O The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that notices of Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination be made available in a location that is accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities that limit mobility. O Printed notices should also be made available in an accessible

format, as needed, to persons with disabilities that limit the ability to see or read. Notices can be recorded on an audio file, provided in an electronic format that can be utilized by screen-reading technology or read to applicants or employees with disabilities that limit seeing or reading ability.


What are the Potential Penalties?

O Back pay

O Compensatory damages

O Punitive damages

O Attorneys’ fees


What you can do to Stay on the Safe Side of the ADA!

O Ensure that all facilities are accessible by

disabled individuals

O Focus on results rather than means of

accomplishing them

O Engage in an interactive process to

determine the needs of an employee who

requests an accommodation ƒ

O Contact the Job Accommodation Network

(JAN) for accommodation assistance


GW Human Resources & Business Services

For more great tools, tips, guidance and training, visit www.GWHumanResources.com

Disclaimer: Upon purchasing our product you are understanding, acknowledging and agreeing with this disclaimer. This information is provided for general informational purposes only. GW Human Resources and Business Services makes no warranties, express, implied or statutory, as to the adequacy, timelines, completeness or accuracy of the information provided. The provided information does not constitute advice and does not bind us in any way to a business-client relationship. Laws are numerous. The amount of regulations is rising. Statements concerning legal matters should be understood to be general observations and should not be relied upon as legal advice, which we are not authorized to provide. Consult legal counsel to make sure that you are fully compliant.


fun slides americans with disabilites act (ada) (adaaa)

Recruiting & HR