THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to any employer engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees for 20 or more weeks in the current or preceeding calendar year, and prohibits discrimination of individuals with mental or physical impairments. Reasonable accommodations are required for disabled people unless such action would cause undue hardship to employer. The act prohibits limiting opportunities including segregation or classification; it also prohibits contracts or relationships which discriminate and deny health insurance coverage solely due to disabilities. Use of qualification standards and tests are restricted, as are medical examinations, but drug testing and voluntary medical examinations are not prohibited. Information pertinent to ADA must be made accessible to employees and job applicants, and damages and enforcement of the act are currently construed from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.