What is the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a law that makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone with a disability. Discrimination is when you are treated unfairly or unequally because you have a disability. To be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of, or be regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, learning, or working. Major life activities also include the operation of major bodily functions, so you are covered under the ADA if you have a condition that affects any of the following:

• The immune system
• Special sense organs
• The skin
• Cell growth
• Digestive, genitourinary, bowel, and bladder functions
• Nervous system, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive functions

If you have a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA protects you from job discrimination that results from your disability. The ADA also requires employers to supply reasonable accommodations if you need them at any stage of the application process, after you are offered the job, and during your employment. You are responsible for telling your employer if you need an accommodation and what accommodation will work best for you. For more information about jobs and appropriate accommodations, you can read DB101's Job Supports and Accommodations article.

In addition, the ADA protects you if you have a history of a disability (such as cancer that is now in remission) or if an employer believes that you have a disability, even if you don't.

The ADA also protects you from discrimination if you have a relationship with a person who is disabled, even if you do not have a disability. For example, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you because your spouse or child has a disability.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that enforces the ADA. Later in this article, we’ll talk more about what to do if you think your employer is not following the ADA.

What Employers Does the ADA Apply To?

The ADA applies to all public and private employers with 15 or more employees and to all state and local government employers, regardless of how many employees they have. The ADA does not apply to federal agencies. Instead, federal agencies have to follow the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is almost identical to the ADA.

What Parts of Employment Does the ADA Cover?

The ADA covers all aspects of employment, including:

• Hiring, firing, and pay
• Job assignment, promotion, layoff, training, and fringe benefits (such as health care coverage, pension, or retirement contributions)
• Any other term or condition of employment

It is also illegal for an employer to retaliate against (get back at) you for asserting your rights under the ADA. So you are protected when you do things like tell your employer you have a disability, ask for a reasonable accommodation, or file a complaint.

In addition to protecting people with disabilities from discrimination, the ADA also requires employers to provide you with reasonable accommodations at your workplace or when you apply for a job, unless doing so would be an undue burden or hardship to the employer. An undue burden means it would be very difficult or very expensive for the employer to give you the accommodation you ask for. If you have a disability and are employed or looking for a job, your right to ask for reasonable accommodations is one of the most important parts of the ADA.

To learn more about reasonable accommodations and how to request them, see DB101’s article on Job Accommodations.

Who is Protected by the ADA?

If you have a disability and are qualified to do a job, the ADA protects you from job discrimination that results from your disability. Under the ADA, you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects you if you have a history of such a disability, or if an employer believes that you have such a disability, even if you do not.

The ADA uses the term “substantial impairment” to define which disabilities qualify for protection. To be protected under the ADA, you must have, have a record of, or be regarded as having a substantial impairment, not a minor impairment. A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity, such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, learning, or working. Substantial impairments can include physical disabilities, mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, or the operation of major bodily functions.

If you have a disability, to be protected from job discrimination by the ADA, you must also be qualified to perform the essential functions or duties of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation. This means two things:

1. You must meet certain conditions that the employer needs job applicants to have, such as education, work experience, skills, or licenses.
2. You must be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. Essential functions are the fundamental job duties that you must be able to perform on your own or with the help of a reasonable accommodation. An employer cannot refuse to hire you because your disability prevents you from performing duties that are not essential to the job. At the same time, you cannot ask that an essential function be removed from your job description as a reasonable accommodation.

Where Can You Learn More About the ADA?

The federal agency that enforces the employment discrimination part of the ADA is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The EEOC has numerous publications, including:

• The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual with a Disability
• Disability Related Inquiries and Medical Exams of Employees (EEOC Guidance)
• Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship (EEOC Guidance)

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities. Discrimination is when you are being treated unfairly or unequally because of your disability. There are many ways that an employer can discriminate against you, including:

• Intentionally not giving you the same job opportunities or benefits as nondisabled coworkers, such as
  • A job
  • A promotion
  • A competitive salary
• Unintentionally denying you job opportunities or benefits
• Retaliating against you (getting back at you) because of your disability, which can include:
  • Coercion, which means forcing you to do something against your will
  • Intimidation, which means frightening or bullying you to follow the employer’s demands
  • Harassment, which means bothering you with unwanted actions or demands
• Interfering with you, which means making it impossible for you to enjoy the same rights and benefits at work as your nondisabled coworkers

Intentional discrimination happens for many reasons. For example, when an employer does not want to pay for your reasonable accommodations or looks down on you because you are disabled, the employer may do something unfair to you on purpose.

Unintentional discrimination usually happens because an employer evaluates or promotes employees in a way that puts disabled people at a disadvantage. The employer usually does not mean to discriminate and does not realize that certain actions or practices are discriminatory.

Retaliation by an employer may happen if a person with a disability or someone on their behalf filed a complaint, gave evidence, or otherwise participated in an investigation to enforce the ADA.

How Do I File a Complaint?

If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of your disability, you can file a complaint with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR). Private lawsuits are an option, but you cannot file a lawsuit until after the EEOC or MDHR has investigated your complaint and given you a notice that is called “a right to sue” letter.

You have to file your discrimination complaint within a certain amount of time or you lose your right to sue. To file your complaint with the EEOC, you have to do so within 300 days (or 10 months) of the date you were discriminated against. If you file your complaint with the MDHR, you have to do it within 365 days (or 12 months) of the date you were discriminated against. However, you should not wait until this timeframe is expiring; try to file your complaint as soon as you have decided that it is necessary to do so. Contact information for the 2 agencies is included later in this article.

If you have been discriminated against, you have the right to a solution that will place you in the position you would have been in if the discrimination had never occurred. This means you may be entitled to getting hired, back pay, or getting reasonable accommodations. You may also qualify to have the employer pay your attorney's fees. To find out whether you qualify as having been discriminated against, you need to file a complaint with the EEOC or MDHR.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

To file a discrimination charge through the EEOC, you can contact any EEOC field office, located in cities throughout the United States. To contact the EEOC, call them on the phone at 1-800-669-4000 (TTY 1-800-669-6820).

The only EEOC office located in Minnesota is in Minneapolis:

Towle Building
330 South Second Avenue, Suite 720
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2224

The EEOC’s website includes good information about how the actual process of filing a complaint works.

Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR)

To file a discrimination charge through the MDHR, call them on the phone at 651-296-5663 (TTY 651-296-1283) or toll-free at 1-800-657-3704.

Their main office is located at:

Sibley Square at Mears Park
190 E. 5th Street, Suite 700
St. Paul, MN 55101

You can also file your complaint by email or submit your complaint online. Click here to report if you have experienced or witnessed an incident of discrimination or bias.

Protection and Advocacy

You can also contact your state’s Protection and Advocacy center when you have questions or problems with reasonable accommodations at work or when you think you are being treated unfairly because of your disability. Minnesota’s Protection and Advocacy organization is the Minnesota Disability Law Center (MDLC). Social Security has a page describing what Protection and Advocacy can and can’t help with.

Additional Resources

These organizations can give you additional information about the ADA and other laws that protect your rights.

• ADA Minnesota is based at the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living and offers information about the ADA. Telephone: 651-603-2015, TTY: 651-603-2001, Toll-free: 1- 888-630-9793.
• DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center offers training and assistance related to the ADA. Telephone/TTY: 1-800-949-4232.
• The Minnesota State Council on Disability is a state agency that educates and informs about different disability issues. Telephone/TTY: 651-361-7800; toll-free voice/TTY: 1-800-945-8913.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires private employers with 50 or more employees and all state, local, and federal government employers to give employees up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave a year for specific reasons. In order to take the leave, you must have recently had a child, have a serious health condition, or be taking care of a family member with a serious health condition.

In these situations, the leave must be “job-protected,” which means that after the leave, you must be allowed to return to your original job or be given another job that is similar. The FMLA also requires that these employers keep you on group health care benefits during your leave.

Which Employers Does the FMLA Cover?

The FMLA applies to all public agencies, including state, local, and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and private-sector employers who employ 50 or more employees.

Who Is Eligible?

To be eligible for FMLA benefits, you must:

• Work for an employer to whom the FMLA applies
• Have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months
• Have worked for at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period right before the start of the leave
• Be employed at a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles of that worksite

When Can You Use the FMLA to Take an Unpaid Leave?

The FMLA lets you take up to 12 work weeks, or 3 months, of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the following family and medical reasons:

• You recently gave birth to a child and need to take care of your child.
• You have an adopted or foster child.
• You need to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition.
• You have a serious health condition and need to take medical leave from work.
• You have “qualifying exigencies” (things that must be taken care of urgently) because your spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty or call to active duty status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves in support of a military operation.

If you are an eligible employee and your spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin is a current member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) and has a serious injury or illness, a covered employer must give you up to a total of 26 work weeks of unpaid leave during a “single 12-month period” to care for the service member.

If you and your spouse work for the same employer, you will be limited to a combined total of 12 work weeks of leave (or 26 work weeks if the leave includes care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness).

If you recently gave birth to a child or have adopted or foster children living with you, you can take your leave only within the 12 months that immediately follow the birth of your child or the placement date of your adopted or foster child.

Sometimes it is possible to arrange to take leave in more than one block of time as long as the leave is for one reason. For example, someone might arrange to take leave over time in order to have regular treatments for cancer. It may also be possible for you to continue working but use FMLA leave to reduce your usual weekly or daily work schedule.

Because FMLA leave is unpaid, you may wish to use any paid sick leave or vacation leave that you have available before or at the same time as your FMLA leave.

Serious Health Condition

For the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a "serious health condition" is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one or more of the following reasons for absence.

• You are receiving inpatient care, for example you’ve been admitted for an overnight stay at a hospital, hospice, or residential medical-care facility.
• You have a” period of incapacity”, which means that you are unable to do the basics of your job, attend school, or take care of yourself, following inpatient care.
• You receive follow-up treatment connected with inpatient care.

• You receive treatment for a condition that makes you to be unable to work for longer than 3 consecutive days -- whether they are work or nonwork days doesn’t matter – and
  • You receive that treatment 2 or more times within a 30-day period or
  • That treatment is “continuing,” such as it is a prescription or you are doing physical therapy.

• You receive continuing treatment for pregnancy or prenatal care.

• You receive continuing treatment for an ongoing, serious health condition that
  • Lasts for a long time
  • Requires doctor’s visits at least twice a year
  • May involve occasional times of incapacity, that is that you’re unable to do the basics of your job or to perform other life activities

• You receive continuing treatment for a period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term because of a condition that doesn’t have an effective treatment.

• You receive multiple treatments for restorative surgery.

• You receive treatment for a condition that would probably end up causing incapacity, that is that would make you unable to do the basics of your job or to perform other life activities, for more than 3 days if not treated.

Continuation of Health Care Benefits

If you had group health insurance through your employer prior to taking FMLA leave, your employer must continue to give you health care coverage during your leave. If you pay part of the cost, you must continue to do so during your leave.

Returning to Your Job

When you return from your FMLA leave, you must be given your job back. If you are not given the same job, you must be given another one with the same pay and benefits. Taking FMLA leave should not cause you to lose any benefits that you earned before you took the leave.

Giving Notice That You Need FMLA Leave

If you know ahead of time that you will need to use FMLA leave, you must tell your employer 30 days in advance. If you know you will need to take leave in less than 30 days, you should tell your employer right away. If you have to take leave for something you did not know about ahead of time, you should tell your employer as soon as possible. If possible, you should also try to follow your employer’s usual policy about asking for leave.

When you ask for FMLA leave, you need to give your employer enough information so your employer can find out if the FMLA applies to your leave request. Depending on the situation, such information may include that you are unable to come to work due to pregnancy, that you have been hospitalized overnight, or that you or your qualifying family member is getting continuing care from a health care provider.

Documenting Your Reason for Leave

When you ask for leave because you or your family member has a serious health condition, your employer may ask for certification of the condition from a health care provider. The employer may also seek a second opinion about the condition from another health care provider as long as the employer pays for it.

Protections Provided by the FMLA

The FMLA makes it unlawful for an employer to stop you from using the rights protected by the FMLA. It is also unlawful for an employer to fire you or discriminate against you (treat you unfairly or unequally) when you exercise your rights under the FMLA.

If you need more information about the FMLA or you think your employer may be denying you your rights, contact the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. You can also contact the local office directly.

Minneapolis District Office
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage & Hour Division
Tri-Tech Center, Suite 920
331 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2233

Phone: 612-370-3341
1-866-4-USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)