Specific provisions for the state of Texas.
Employers can’t fail or refuse to make reasonable accommodations for the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified employees and applicants with disabilities, unless employers can show that these accommodations would impose undue hardship on their business operations. Such a showing of undue hardship is a defense against discrimination complaints made by otherwise qualified employees and applicants with disabilities. In reviewing these complaints, the Texas Workforce Commission or courts consider the reasonableness of costs for needed accommodations and the availability of alternatives or other appropriate remedies. Employers aren’t obligated to make reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants whose disabilities are solely based on being regarded as having impairments that substantially limit at least one major life activity.
Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers, including state and local governments, with 15 or more employees, are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Title I protects qualified individuals with disabilities in several areas, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation and job training. It is also unlawful to retaliate against someone for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on disability, or for filing an ADA discrimination charge. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) shares enforcement authority for Title I of the ADA with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has primary responsibility for enforcing the employment provisions of the law. (Note: Federal employees and job applicants are covered by Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 instead of the ADA.