Qualified individuals with disabilities are protected from disability-based employment discrimination.
A person with a disability is someone with mental or physical impairments that substantially limit a major life activity.
Mental or physical impairments may include:
- blindness
- hearing impairment
- mobility impairment
- HIV infection
- intellectual or developmental disability
- alcoholism
- drug addiction
- chronic fatigue
- learning disability
- traumatic brain injury
- mental illness
A “major life activity” may include:
- seeing
- hearing
- walking
- standing
- sitting
- lifting
- breathing
- performing manual tasks
- caring for yourself
- learning
- communicating
- concentrating
- thinking
- working
Major life activities also include things like normal cell growth, how well an organ works, or how well the digestive, neurological, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal and reproductive functions work.
People who have a history of having an impairment, or people who are regarded by others as having an impairment, are also protected from discrimination.
The law also protects people from discrimination based on their relationship with a person with a disability – even if they do not themselves have a disability. For example, if you are the parent of a child with a disability, an employer cannot refuse to hire you because they think you will need to take time off from work to take your child to doctor’s appointments.
