LEGAL GUIDANCE

Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (Public Law 101-336), 42
U.S.C. 12101, became law on 26 July 1990. Implementation of the
Act was deferred for a period of 24 months so that employers,
employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-
Management committees could make "reasonable accommodations" for
workers with disabilities. It becomes effective 26 July 1992 for
employers with 25 or more employees. For employers with 15 to 25
employees, implementation can be extended an extra 2 years. The
goal is to remove discrimination against disabled persons in
areas such as employment, housing, public services, privately-
owned public accommodations, education, transportation,
recreation, communications, and access to public services. The
new law does not apply to DoD personnel since the United States
Government is not an "employer" under the terms of the Act.
However, it does reach Department of Defense (DoD) contractors,
including those providing medical supplies and healthcare
services to the Navy.

The Act prohibits discrimination against disabled Americans,
because of the disability, in regard to job application
procedures; the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees;
employee compensation; job training; and other terms, conditions,
and privileges of employment. A disabled person is defined as
anyone who has ever had or is perceived as having an impairment
that substantially limits a major life activity. Individuals with
diseases such as AIDS and recovering alcoholics and drug addicts
are considered disabled.

Private sector employers can not require pre-employment medical
examinations or make inquiries as to the nature or severity of an
applicant's disability. Employers may ask the disabled applicant
what accommodations he/she requires to perform the job and they
may ask the individual to explain or demonstrate how they will do
the job. Employers may require a medical examination after an
offer of employment has been made and prior to the beginning of
the employment duties if all of the entering employees are
subjected to the examination regardless of disability. The
information obtained must be maintained separately in a separate
medical file and treated as a confidential medical record.
However, supervisors, managers, first aid, and safety personnel
may be informed, when appropriate, of restrictions on the work or
duties of the employee and necessary accommodations.

The Department of Defense General Counsel has opined that the
Americans with Disabilities Act does not prevent DoD from
applying safety and occupational health programs to DoD
personnel. Therefore, DoD safety and occupational health program
policies and procedures (DoDI 6055.1, DoD 6055.5-M, DoDI 6055.12,
and DD Form 2493-1) remain in effect.


The Act requires employers to make existing facilities readily
accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. It is
up to the disabled individual to request needed accommodations.
If an employer believes these changes would cause an "undue
hardship" on the business, he or she may refuse to make the
changes.

Disabled individuals who feel they have been discriminated
against may file charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. If charges are upheld, employers could face up to
$300,000 in punitive damages.

Point of contact at NMLC is Mr. John R. Osing, Jr., Office of
Counsel, who may be reached at (301) 619-2157 or by DSN at 343-
2157.