Question of the Month: Northwest ADA Center – Idaho

QUESTION:

Will the ADA protect me from being fired?

ANSWER:

No. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not offer blanket protection against being fired. It prohibits discrimination based on disability, but an employer can still terminate an employee for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons, even if the employee has a disability.

The ADA’s protection hinges on whether the disability impacts the employee’s ability to perform the essential functions of their job, with or without reasonable accommodations.

What the ADA does:

Prohibits discrimination:

The ADA prevents employers from firing or taking other adverse actions against employees because of their disability.

Requires reasonable accommodations:

If an employee with a disability can perform the essential functions of their job with reasonable accommodations (unless doing so would cause undue hardship), the employer must provide those accommodations.

Covers perceived and past disabilities:

The ADA also protects employees who are perceived as having a disability, or who have a record of a disability, even if they are not currently disabled.

What the ADA does NOT do:

Guarantee job security:

The ADA does not prevent employers from terminating employees for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons, such as poor performance, misconduct, or layoffs due to business needs.

Excuse inability to perform essential functions:

If an employee cannot perform the essential functions of their job, with or without reasonable accommodations, the employer is not required to keep them in that position.

Protect against all terminations:

If an employee is terminated for reasons unrelated to their disability, the ADA will not prevent the termination, even if the employee has a disability.