The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabling medical conditions from discrimination. The ADA applies to many different types of relationships, including employment arrangements.
Under the ADA, professionals with disabling medical conditions have the right to request reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Those accommodations might include work-from-home arrangements, assistive technology, accessible spaces or modified job responsibilities. Employees may take for granted that they have the right to accommodations under the ADA, but the law only applies in certain scenarios.
When does the ADA protect workers with medical challenges?
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When the company is big enough
One of the most important limitations on the ADA is the minimum company size rule. Particularly small companies might struggle to cover the costs of accommodating a worker. The reasonable accommodations standard only applies to companies that have at least 15 employees. Smaller businesses do not have to provide accommodations, but they can voluntarily choose to do so.
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When the worker has documentation
Accommodations must be medically necessary for the worker to have legal rights under the ADA. Typically, employees requesting accommodations need medical letters affirming that the accommodations are necessary.
They do not need to disclose their diagnosis to their employer, but they do generally need a note from a physician identifying the accommodations that they require. Workers can ask for accommodations for new conditions they develop while employed or existing conditions when applying for a new job.
Workers unfairly denied accommodations when they have a right to request them may have experienced disability discrimination. Keeping records of communication with employers could be the first step toward fighting back against denied accommodations and other forms of discrimination.