ADA/ADAAA Policy Template

Purpose

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) are federal laws that require employers with 15 or more employees to not discriminate against applicants and individuals with disabilities and, when needed, provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees who are qualified for a job—with or without reasonable accommodations—so that they may perform the position’s essential job duties.

It is the policy of [Company Name] to comply with all federal and state laws concerning the employment of individuals with disabilities and to act in accordance with regulations and guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Furthermore, it is the company policy not to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to application procedures, hiring, advancement, compensation, training, discharge, or other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.

Procedures

When an applicant with a disability requests accommodation and can be reasonably accommodated without creating an undue hardship or causing a direct threat to workplace safety, the employee will be given the same consideration for employment as any other applicant. Applicants who pose a direct threat to the health, safety and well-being of themselves or others in the workplace when the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation will not be hired.

[Company Name] will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential job functions unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to [Company Name]. Contact human resources (HR) with any accommodation questions or requests.

All employees are required to comply with the company's safety standards. Current employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of themselves or other individuals in the workplace will be placed on leave until an organizational decision has been made regarding the employee's immediate employment situation.

Individuals currently using illegal drugs at or outside of work are excluded from coverage under the company ADA policy. [Company’s name] ADA policy does not extend protections to individuals who are currently using illegal drugs. However, if an individual is in or has completed a drug rehabilitation program and is not currently using illegal drugs, a reasonable accommodation may be available.

The HR department is responsible for implementing this policy, including resolving reasonable accommodation, safety/direct threat and undue hardship issues.

Terms Used in This Policy

As used in this ADA policy, the following terms are defined as: 

• Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

• Major life activities (but are not limited to): This includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working.

• Major bodily functions (but are not limited to): Body systems such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin and endocrine that could be affected by a physical or mental impairment such as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more. 

• Other impairments: Also covered are any mental or psychological disorders, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.

• Substantially limiting: In accordance with the ADAAA final regulations, determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity requires an individualized assessment, and an impairment that is episodic or in remission may also meet the definition of disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active. These types of impairments may include asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. An impairment, such as cancer that is in remission but that may possibly return in a substantially limiting form, is also considered a disability under the final ADAAA regulations.

• Direct threat: A significant risk to the health, safety or well-being of other individuals. 

• Qualified individual: An individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.

• Reasonable accommodation: Includes any changes to the work environment and may include making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; job restructuring; offering part-time or modified work schedules; working remotely; reassignment to a position; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices; appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies; providing qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities. vacant

• Undue hardship: Significant difficulty or expense that would be incurred by the employer if an accommodation were implemented. In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on a covered entity, factors to consider include: The nature and cost of the accommodation.
  • The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in providing  the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact of such accommodation on the operation of the facility.
  • The overall financial resources of the employer; the size, number, type and location of facilities.
  • The type of operations of the company, including the composition, structure and functions of the workforce; administrative or fiscal relationship of the particular facility involved in making the accommodation to the employee. 

• Essential functions of the job: Job activities the employer determines are essential or core to performing the job; these functions cannot be modified.

The examples provided in the above terms are not meant to be all-inclusive and should not be construed as such. They are not the only conditions that are considered to be disabilities, impairments or reasonable accommodations covered by the ADA/ADAAA policy.