The job of the EEOC investigator is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Employees or job applicants must meet all the necessary requirements of the job and perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. No accommodation must be provided if it would result in an undue hardship on the employer. The ADA, along with other laws such as the FMLA and Workers' Compensation, are squeezing out small businesses that cannot afford to hire human resource specialists to advise them regarding the complexities of these laws. For employers who are covered, the ADA provides an undue hardship defense for reasonable accommodations that are unduly costly or burdensome.
Smaller employers can more easily establish undue hardship because they have fewer resources.
The ADA is being misused by people alleging mental and neurological impairments. Just as the ADA excludes people with temporary physical problems, so does it exclude people with mild or short-term mental health problems. Neurological impairments are conditions or diseases involving the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, ganglia, nerves, and nerve centers. ADA charges indicate that there is significant discrimination against persons with neurological impairments. Psychiatric impairments involve a biological, social, or psychological dysfunction.