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ABA Family Legal Guide
Law and the Workplace
The Hiring Process
If a person with a disability cannot perform an essential function of the job, can the employer refuse to hire him or her?
Not necessarily. The question is whether the inability to perform the essential function of the job is due to lack of qualifications or due to the disability. If the employer is hiring for secretarial positions and an applicant cannot type, then the employer could refuse to hire him or her even if the applicant suffered from a disabling disease. (For more on this point, see the discussion in "The Protected Class Under the ADA.")
If, however, the applicant does possess typing skills, then the question becomes whether, with a reasonable accommodation, he or she would be able to perform the essential function of the job. For example, an applicant for a secretarial position who is blind may be unable to use the word processor. However, if the applicant is provided with a Braille keyboard, the applicant can use the word processor and would thus be able to perform the essential function of the job.
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Side Bar - The Protected Class Under the ADA The ADA protects "qualified individuals with a disability" from discrimination in employment. An individual with a disability is qualified if he or she has "the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements" for the job. For example, in deciding whether someone with epilepsy is qualified to teach, you'd ask if he or she had a teaching certificate or a college degree in education. If not, then the person is not qualified and is not a member of the protected class under the ADA. |
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