In passing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, Congress attempted to level the playing field for disabled workers. The ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations so that workers with disabilities can secure and retain employment. By requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations, the ADA has had a positive effect on the placement of disabled individuals in the workforce, and has raised the consciousness of U.S. employers while reducing discrimination against the disabled. The language of the ADA, however, is not precise as to the "accommodations" that an employer is required to make for disabled persons during hiring and employment. Courts around the country also disagree on this issue, and until Congress or the Supreme Court offers greater clarification, many accommodation disputes will likely end up in court.

What is Reasonable Accommodation?

The ADA prohibits employers from engaging in a broad range of discriminatory conduct on the basis of an employee's disability. Employers may not:

• Limit, segregate or classify jobs in such a way as to discriminate;
• Contract or arrange with others to discriminate;
• Utilize discriminatory standards, criteria, or methods of administration; or
• Exclude or deny qualified individuals from jobs or benefits on the basis of disability.

In addition, an employer must make "reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability." Congress might have stopped with this language, and allowed employers and the courts to determine what steps the "reasonable accommodation" standard requires. Instead, the law provides an exception if accommodation would cause "undue hardship" to the employer's business. The ADA therefore strikes a balance -- between the accommodations an employee needs or desires in order to meet the requirements of a certain job, and the investment and modifications an employer must make in order to accomplish those accommodations.