Disability Rights
Together, we must remove the physical barriers we have created and the social barriers that we have accepted. For ours will never be a truly prosperous nation until all within it prosper.”
–President George H.W. Bush, upon signing into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act (as well as many similar state laws) protects against discrimination based on disability. Employers may not refuse to hire you, terminate your employment, or take other adverse actions against you based on your disability. The ADA also imposes an affirmative duty upon employers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. The ADA generally prohibits employers from requiring medical tests and requires employers to keep your medical information confidential.
In addition, the ADA imposes affirmative requirements on businesses and employers with respect to providing reasonable accommodations in accessing facilities and public accommodations. More recently, these obligations have been extended to company websites, requiring that such websites provide access to individuals whose impairments may prevent them to do so without certain technology.