Understanding the ADA is vital for small businesses

As a business owner, I know that understanding and knowing the rules as they relate to employees or others with disabilities is very important. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. Basically, it prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability so that anyone with disabilities has the same opportunities as everyone else. This covers employment opportunities, schools, transportation, and many public and private places that are open to the general public, the ability to purchase goods and services, and to participate in state and local government programs.

For small businesses, it is vital to understand this law. The ADA mandates that people with disabilities are allowed to access the same employment openings and benefits available to people without disabilities. The law applies to any employer with 15 or more employees. The ADA covers many areas, but some that definitely apply to small businesses include the following:

• The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees. A “reasonable accommodation” is a change that accommodates employees with disabilities so they can do the job without causing the employer “undue hardship” (too much difficulty or expense). Managers must never deny an ADA accommodation request as it relates to an employee’s situation. Examples of this could be as simple as a request for ergonomic equipment or a dark, quiet workspace for an employee who experiences chronic migraines. You must also make "reasonable modifications" to your usual ways of doing things when serving people with disabilities and take whatever steps are necessary to communicate effectively with customers who have vision, hearing, and speech disabilities.
• The ADA prohibits places of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Public accommodations include privately owned, leased or operated facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail merchants, doctors' offices, golf courses, private schools, day care centers, health clubs, sports stadiums, movie theaters, etc.
• The ADA also defines disability, establishes guidelines for the reasonable accommodation process, and addresses medical examinations and inquiries and much more.
• The ADA is regulated and enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It is important to always follow ADA laws. When in doubt, confer with HR if you have an HR department. If you don’t have one, you can call a consultant such as SACS Consulting or an employment attorney.

President, SACS Consulting & Investigative Services, Speaker, Trainer, Corporate Security Expert Timothy A. Dimoff, CPP, president of SACS Consulting & Investigative Services, Inc., is a speaker, trainer and author and a leading authority in high-risk workplace and human resource security and crime issues. He is a Certified Protection Professional; a certified legal expert in corporate security procedures and training; a member of the Ohio and International Narcotic Associations; the Ohio and National Societies for Human Resource Managers; and the American Society for Industrial Security. He holds a B.S. in Sociology, with an emphasis in criminology, from Dennison University. Contact him at info@sacsconsulting.com.