The ADA definition of disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from unfair treatment. Protected areas include:

• State and local government services,
• Places of public accommodation,
• Employment,
• Telecommunications, and
• Transportation.

The ADA covers private employers with 15 or more employees. It includes state and local government employers of any size. It also applies to employment agencies and labor unions. The ADA does not apply to the federal government. There is another law, the Rehabilitation Act, that covers the federal government.  

Who does the ADA protect?

A person with a disability is someone who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (for example, a person who uses a wheelchair is substantially limited in the major life activity of walking),
• Has a record of such an impairment (a past history of an impairment or past diagnosis, even if it is inaccurate), or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment (an impairment that does not limit the person's activities but is believed by others to do so, or a mistaken belief that a person has disabilities).

An impairment is measured when the condition is most severe. If you are only sometimes impaired (sometimes called an "intermittent" or "episodic" impairment), the ADA will look at when your symptoms show the most.

Physical or mental impairments

There are two essential parts to showing that you have a disability under the first category:

• You must have a physical or mental impairment, and
• The impairment must substantially limit you from at least one major life activity.

To be disabled under the ADA, you must have a physical or mental impairment. Not everything that keeps you from doing activities is an impairment. But, the ADA uses a broad definition.

A physical impairment is any medical disorder, condition, or loss that affects the body. These can be:

• Neurological, 
• Musculoskeletal, 
• Special sense organs,
• Respiratory (including speech organs),
• Cardiovascular,
• Reproductive,
• Digestive,
• Genitourinary,
• Immune,
• Circulatory,
• Hemic,
• Lymphatic,
• Skin, or 
• Endocrine.

A mental impairment is any mental or cognitive disorder. This includes:

• Intellectual disability,
• Organic brain syndrome,
• Mental illness,
• Emotional illness, and
• Dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning disorders.

What qualifies for the ADA?

Physical or mental impairments covered by the ADA include:

• AIDS, and its symptoms,
• Alcoholism,
• Asthma,
• Blindness or other visual impairments,
• Cancer,
• Cerebral palsy,
• Depression,
• Diabetes,
• Epilepsy,
• [no-lexicon]Hearing[/no-lexicon] or speech impairments,
• Heart Disease,
• Migraine Headaches,
• Multiple sclerosis,
• Muscular dystrophy,
• Orthopedic impairments,
• Paralysis,
• Complications from Pregnancy,
• Thyroid gland disorders,
• Tuberculosis, and
• Loss of body parts.

Some short-term impairments with little or no lasting effects do not qualify. The ADA does not protect against unfair treatment based on lifestyle. 

Conditions that are not impairments include:

• Common cold or the flu,
• Sprained joint,
• [no-lexicon]Minor[/no-lexicon] and non-chronic gastrointestinal disorders,
• Compulsive gambling,
• Pregnancy (although some pregnancy-related impairments such as preeclampsia and hyperemesis gravidarum may qualify. For more information see Pregnancy Discrimination),
• Old age,
• Physical characteristics such as eye color, hair color, or left-handedness,
• Environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantages, such as poverty, lack of education, or a prison record,
• Personality traits, such as a bad temper or poor [no-lexicon]judgment, and[/no-lexicon]
• Bisexuality or homosexuality.

Does drug addiction qualify?

Casual drug use is not considered an impairment under the ADA. This applies to unlawful drugs and to prescription drug use. There are few situations where drug addiction qualifies under the ADA. One is if someone has a history of addiction or is thought to be addicted to drugs.The addiction could qualify as an impairment. It is not an impairment if someone has a history of addiction and is now using illegal drugs.

Major life activities

Major life activities include:

• caring for oneself,
• performing manual tasks,
• seeing,
• hearing,
• eating,
• sleeping,
• walking,
• standing,
• lifting,
• bending,
• speaking,
• breathing,
• learning,
• reading,
• concentrating,
• thinking,
• communicating, and
• working.

Major life activities also include any major bodily function. This includes the:

• Bladder,
• Bowel,
• Brain,
• Circulatory system,
• Digestive system,
• Endocrine system,
• Immune system,
• Neurological system,
• Normal cell growth,
• Reproductive functions, and
• Respiratory system.

The following are some things that courts have held are not major life activities:

• Caring for others,
• Driving,
• Ability to have a relationship, and 
• Grocery shopping.

Substantially limits 

The impairment has to substantially limit you from doing major life activities. The ADA defines "substantially limits" broadly. Substantially limits is not meant to be a demanding standard.   

Your impairment does not have to last for a certain amount of time. A condition lasting for less than six months may qualify. It depends on the facts of your case. There is no need to go through a lot of medical testing to gather proof. Use all available evidence to show that your condition keeps you from doing major life activities.

Some examples include:

• A person who is paralyzed from the waist down. Their limited major life activity is walking;
• A person who is blind. Their limited major life activity is seeing;
• A person with a developmental disability. Their limited major life activity may be learning.

If your symptoms come and go or are in remission, you may still have an impairment. It must largely keep you from doing a major life activity when it is active. Impairments like that include:

Epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, major depression, bipolar disorder, etc. Cancer that is in remission is an impairment if it may return.

Factors to look at in determining if an impairment is substantially limiting 

The set of factors depends on each case. Common factors are:

• The difficulty, effort, or time it takes you to perform a major life activity,
• The pain you experience when you engage in the activity, and
• The way the impairment affects how a major bodily function operates.

"Working" as a major life activity

The ADA added working to the list of major life activities. An impairment can keep someone from doing some part of a job. But it might not limit any other major life activity. In this case, the person may be substantially limited in working. 

Decisions about working disability should look at how difficult it is to perform a broad class of jobs. A "class" of work refers to the nature of the work. This could be commercial truck driving or assembly line jobs. “Class” also refers to job-related requirements. This includes jobs that require a lot of walking, [no-lexicon]standing[/no-lexicon], or heavy lifting. You can't say you are greatly limited just because you can't do one specific job.

Examples:

• A teacher's anxiety disorder restricted her ability to teach in a correctional facility for juveniles. But, it did not restrict her ability to work as a teacher in other kinds of classrooms.
• A woman with a vision impairment was not able to be a global pilot. But, she was still able to work as a regional pilot.

Corrective and mitigating measures take away or lessen the symptoms of an impairment. These include medicines and assistive devices. Examples are eyeglasses, prosthetic limbs, and wheelchairs.

Examples include:

• Medication,
• Medical equipment and devices,
• Prosthetic limbs,
• Low vision devices that magnify an image,
• [no-lexicon]Hearing[/no-lexicon] aids, 
• Mobility devices,
• Oxygen therapy equipment,
• Use of assistive technology,
• Reasonable accommodations,
• Psychotherapy,
• Behavioral therapy, and
• Physical therapy.

Corrective measures do not disqualify you from the ADA. Focus on how much you were limited before using the corrective measure. Look at what would happen if you stopped using a corrective measure.

There is an exception for correctable poor eyesight. It is not considered a disability if you wear normal glasses to correct your vision.

Some mitigating measures have negative side effects. Negative side effects can be considered in determining whether you have an impairment.

Examples:

• High blood pressure medication may cause depression or a dry cough that doesn't go away. Such side effects may help decide whether a person is substantially limited.
• A person with a mental impairment can be disabled under the ADA. This happens if you consider the negative side effects of anti-psychotic drugs. An example is painful seizures.

Usually it is unnecessary to look at the negative effects. The impairment qualifies if someone is substantially limited without treatment.

Other ways to be considered as having a disability

A record or history of disability

The ADA may consider you to have a disability despite no substantially limiting impairment. This can occur if you have a record of a substantially limiting impairment.

This means that either:

• You do not have a substantially limiting impairment now, but you had one in the past, or
• Someone wrongly classified you as having such impairment.

The ADA prevents unfair treatment because of a history of a condition. You are covered even if your medical records show you recovered from a disability. Even if you barely had the condition, the ADA applies as long as it is in your records.

You can prove unfair treatment under this section. You must show that your employer or school relied on the record indicating your impairment.

Examples:

• You have recovered enough to perform all essential functions of the job. But, an employer refuses to hire you due to your history of mental illness. 
• You were mistakenly diagnosed with HIV. A dentist refuses to treat you because of this wrong diagnosis.

Regarded as having an impairment

Someone might believe you have a disability, even if you do not. They may treat you unfairly based on any impairment they believe you have. In this situation, you are "regarded as" disabled. This is true whether you have an impairment or not. You are not regarded as having an impairment if the impairment is both "transitory" and "minor." Transitory means lasting or expected to last 6 months or less. 

Note: If you are only covered under this "regarded as" section, you are not legally entitled to any reasonable accommodation.

You may be considered disabled because you are denied a job, service, or benefit. This is due to fears and stereotypes about disabilities.

Examples:

• An employee has controlled high blood pressure. This is not substantially limiting. His employer fears the employee will suffer a heart attack. So, he reassigns the employee.
• A person with a severe burn or scar does not have an impairment. She may face unfair treatment because people assume she does.

Discrimination based on association

The ADA protects people who are discriminated against simply because they associate with people with disabilities. People who associate with people with disabilities through a range of activities – by being their friend, spouse, domestic partner, relative, business associate, advocate or caregiver – are covered under the association provision.

People who claim discrimination by association are not entitled to accommodations under the ADA. For example, the parent of a child with disabilities is not entitled to leave time or a special schedule under the ADA to take them to doctors or therapists. However, they may have such rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or state or local laws providing sick leave.