Employers must give qualified workers who have disabilities a chance.

People with disabilities make valuable contributions at work -- if they are given the opportunity to do so. In the past decade, the federal government and many state governments have passed laws that give people with disabilities this opportunity. The main federal law is called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and it and similar state laws have changed the face of the American workforce by prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities and by requiring employers to accommodate the disabilities of employees -- and applicants -- when possible.

Who Is Covered

The ADA and most state laws protect "qualified workers with disabilities." Thus, someone must be a qualified worker and they must have a legally recognized disability to be protected by the ADA. Let's look more closely at these issues.

A qualified worker is a worker who can perform most basic and necessary job duties, with or without some form of accommodation from you.

A worker is legally disabled if he falls into one of these three categories:

• The worker has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity (such as the ability to walk, talk, see, hear, breathe, reason, work or take care of oneself). Courts tend not to categorically characterize certain conditions as disabilities. Instead, they consider the effect of the particular condition on the particular employee.
• The worker has a record or history of impairment. In other words, you may not make employment decisions based on your employee's past disability.
• He is regarded by the employer -- even incorrectly -- as having a disability. In other words, you can't treat workers less favorably because you believe them to be disabled, even if you are wrong.

For an impairment to be a legal disability, it must be long-term. Temporary impairments, such as pregnancy or broken bones, are not covered by the ADA (but they may be covered by other laws.)