ADA Employment Course

Module 1: Who has obligations under Title I of the ADA?

Under the ADA, employers with 15 or more employees must comply with Title I. Both full-time and part-time employees are counted.

What about state & local governments?

Even if a small town has only one or two employees it must also comply with Title I employment standards. State and local governments, regardless of size, are covered by the employment nondiscrimination requirements under Title II. of the ADA and those requirements point back to the Title I regulations for the details.

So, private employers with 15 or more employees - and all state and local governments no matter how many employees they have - must not discriminate on the basis of disability in employment and must provide reasonable accommodation to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.

Additional state & local laws

Many states and some localities, such as cities and counties, have laws or ordinances comparable to Title I. Many of those laws and ordinances apply when an employer has fewer than 15 employees. For example, Massachusetts’ law applies to employers with six or more employees as does Indiana’s. New Mexico’s law applies to employers with four or more employees, as does New York’s and Illinois’ law applies to employers with one or more employees as does Alaska’s.

So in those states, more people with disabilities have rights to not be discriminated against and to reasonable accommodation because those smaller employers have obligations under state law even though Title I of the ADA doesn’t apply to them.

It’s important to look at both the ADA and the state or local law. In some circumstances the ADA provides greater protection and in other circumstances the state or local law provides greater protection. For example the New Mexico Human Rights Act protects people who have a “serious medical condition” in addition to people with disabilities.

We’ve included a list of all US state and territories employment rights laws in the Resources Section of this course.

What about the federal government?

Most federal employees have rights under the Rehabilitation Act not the ADA. That’s because the Rehab Act preceded the ADA by years.

Employees of the executive branch of the federal government, such as the US Postal Service, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Commerce, have the same rights to reasonable accommodation and to not be discriminated against, only those rights are under the Rehab Act, not the ADA.

Employees of the federal legislative branch – in other words, employees of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the agencies that support Congress – are protected under Title I of the ADA.

Religious Organizations

Religious organizations are covered by Title I of the ADA, but they may give employment preference to people of their own religion or religious organization.

For example: A church could require that its employees be members of its religion. However, it could not discriminate in employment on the basis of disability against members of its religion.

Employment Agencies, Labor Unions & Joint Labor Management Committees

Although we’re using the term “employer” in this web course, employment agencies, labor unions and joint labor-management committees must also comply with Title I. They are considered “covered entities” and have obligations under Title I.

For example: If a union member who is deaf wants to attend a union meeting and needs a sign language interpreter in order to participate, the union must provide the interpreter unless providing the interpreter would be an undue hardship, which we’ll discuss in Module 3: Reasonable Accommodation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is a municipality with five employees covered by ADA employment requirements?
Yes. As of January 26, 1992, all state and local entities must ensure that their employment practices and policies do not discriminate on the basis of disability against qualified individuals with disabilities in every aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, demotion, layoff and return from layoff, compensation, job assignments, job classifications, paid or unpaid leave, fringe benefits, training, and employer-sponsored activities, including recreational or social programs.

Reference: Department of Justice Title II Technical Assistance Manual

2. Must Indian Tribes comply with Title I?
No.Indian tribes are exempt from Title I of the ADA. The ADA exempts Indian tribes by adopting the same definition of employer as is in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII specifically exempts Indian tribes.

References: E E O C Title I Technical Assistance Manual and Indianemploymentlaw.com

3. Must private membership clubs comply with Title I?
Private membership clubs that meet two conditions are exempt from the ADA. First they must not be labor organizations and second they must be exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code.

Reference: E E O C Title I Technical Assistance Manual

This is the end of Module I.

Next Module: Who has rights under Title I of the ADA

Course Contents

Questions on this course
Contact the New England ADA Center
elearning@NewEnglandADA.org
617-695-0085 voice/tty
800-949-4232 voice/tty (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

Questions on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Contact the ADA Center in your region
800-949-4232 voice/tty www.adata.org