ADA mandates employers to accommodate mental disabilities.

What do people visualize when they think about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)? Most people imagine handicapped parking spots, ramps, handrails and wheelchair accessible bathrooms -- accommodations made for people who have physical disabilities. There is a whole other aspect

The ADA is important because it protects the rights of workers with mental and emotional problems just as much as it does those who have physical disabilities.

What information is advantageous for you and your firm to know about this little-emphasized aspect of the ADA? You need to know 1) which conditions are covered and which aren't covered under the ADA, 2) what accommodations are required of employers, 3) what responsibilities employers have under the Act, and 4) what resources are available, including grievance procedures.

June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant, says, "Think of the ADA not as a frustrator, but as a facilitator. Employers for their own sakes need to become familiar with the ADA. Accessibility is one more way of embracing and accommodating diversity in our society. I think the key is being creative. You can't assume that just because you always did something one way that it's the only way."

What is the ADA?

Discrimination against all types of qualified people with physical, mental, emotional, or sensory impairments is prohibited by the ADA, which extends the protection of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to people with disabilities in regard to hiring, training, promoting, and other conditions of employment: While it outlaws discriminating against capable workers, the ADA is not an affirmative action program -- it does not give preferential treatment to people who have disabilities. The ADA became effective in 1992 for private firms with 25 or more employees. If your firm has 15 to 24 employees, you need to know that on July 26, 1994 the protection of the ADA was extended to companies with 15 or more employees. Private employers with fewer than 15 employees are not required to comply with the ADA.

Conditions Included Under the ADA

Who is covered under the ADA? Other than the obvious physical disabilities, the ADA covers people with mental and emotional impairments which are serious enough to considerably limit one or more major life activities such as talking, thinking, speaking, perceiving, handling emotions, or working. Although determination of discrimination is decided on a case by case basis, some examples of conditions that might be protected are dyslexia and other reading disabilities, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, learning disabilities, and complications resulting from treatment for these conditions, such as dry mouth, the need to eat frequently, diminished concentration and short-term memory loss. People who have recovered from mental illness, but experience discrimination because of their past incapacity are shielded under the ADA. Also defended are relatives and friends of someone who is mentally or emotionally impaired and who may be shunned due to the incorrect idea that mental impairment or illness is contagious or runs in families. People who are mistakenly believed to be mentally impaired or ill are also included.