Specific provisions for the state of Utah.
Employers must make reasonable accommodations for the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified employees and applicants with disabilities, unless they can show that these accommodations would impose undue hardship on their business operations. Employers can’t deny employment opportunities to qualified employees and applicants with disabilities based on their need for reasonable accommodations. Qualified means that employees and applicants with disabilities can perform their essential job functions with reasonable accommodations.
Reasonable accommodations can include making facilities readily accessible or usable, job restructuring, modified work schedules, and acquiring or modifying equipment or devices. Undue hardship depends on factors such as employers’ overall business size in terms of workforce size, number and type of facilities, and budget size; employers’ type of operations, including workforce composition and structure; and the nature and cost of needed accommodations.
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.
