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Group of diverse employees sitting around a table in an office.Group of diverse employees sitting around a table in an office.
Group of diverse employees sitting around a table in an office.

What disabilities are covered under the ADA?

TLDR; The ADA doesn’t include an exclusive list of conditions considered to be a disability. Disclo will verify the legitimacy and severity of your employee’s disability.

Team Disclo
March 26, 2024

Disabilities are diverse and often invisible. Today, over 70% of disabilities are invisible or ‘non-apparent’. On top of that, only about 3.2% of employees actually disclose their disability to their employer, meaning you may not even know who at your company is living with a disability.

The ADA includes a non-exhaustive list of easily recognizable disabilities. This list includes:

✅ Deafness

✅ Blindness

✅ Diabetes

✅ Cancer

✅ Epilepsy

✅ Intellectual disabilities

✅ Partial or completely missing limbs

✅ Mobility impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair

✅ Autism

✅ Cerebral palsy

✅ HIV infection

✅ Multiple sclerosis

✅ Muscular dystrophy

✅ Major depressive disorder

✅ Bipolar disorder

✅ Post-traumatic stress disorder

✅ Obsessive-compulsive disorder

✅ Schizophrenia

Again, this list is non-exhaustive. What this list fails to mention is mental illnesses, chronic illnesses, rare diseases, autoimmune related disorders, long COVID-19, temporary disability, and more. 

You are covered under the ADA if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects you if you have a history of such a disability.

In 2021, two major changes occurred in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

➡️ The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held for the first time that temporary injuries can qualify as disabilities for the purposes of the ADA. 

➡️ Long COVID can now be considered a disability under Titles II (state and local government) and III (public accommodations) of the ADA (HHS)

Again, disabilities are diverse and can be acquired at any point in one’s life. As The Arc says, “The disability community is the only minority group that anyone can join at any time.”

Want to know more about disabilities covered under the ADA? Here are some of our favorite resources:

Curious to see how accommodations can support your employees?

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