The EEOC has issued four revised guidance documents addressing how the ADA applies to applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities.
In plain, easy-to-understand language, the revised documents reflect the changes to the definition of disability made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which made it easier to conclude that individuals with a wide range of impairments are protected by the ADA.
Cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities generate lots of ADA questions, according to EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien. “While there is a considerable amount of general information available about the ADA, the EEOC often is asked questions about how the ADA applies to these conditions,” she said.
Nearly 34 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, diabetes or epilepsy. More than two million have some form of intellectual disability. “Many of them are looking for jobs or are already in the workplace,” Berrien noted.
Each of the documents covers:
- When an employer may obtain medical information from applicants and employees
- The types of reasonable accommodations people with those disabilities might need
- How employers should handle safety concerns
- What employers should do to prevent and correct disability-based harassment.
Use these links to download free copies of the revised EEOC guidance:
Questions & Answers about Cancer in the Workplace and the ADA
Questions & Answers about Diabetes in the Workplace and the ADA
Questions & Answers about Epilepsy in the Workplace and the ADA
Questions & Answers about Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA
Find general EEOC guidance about disability discrimination here.
