The Americans with Disabilities Act has prohibited discrimination against qualified individuals based on their disabilities across the United States for the last 25 years. The scope of the ADA has changed dramatically since it was signed into federal law by President George H.W. Bush. Since its inception, the ADA has required employers to implement reasonable accommodations for a qualified individual’s disability.
A critical question facing employers is what medical conditions qualify as a disability that must be accommodated to comply with federal law. The answer to that question has transformed over the past 25 years and now requires employers to accommodate a variety of conditions, including those not currently impacting an individual’s health. This nuance demands the attention of human resource professionals and business owners to avoid unintentionally violating federal law.
