How the ADA Defines Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 define disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

The civil rights legislation guarantees people with disabilities equal access to employment, education, transportation, public spaces, government services, and telecommunications, and also applies to Congress and other agencies in the legislative branch.

One in four American adults lives with a disability, and a person must have a disability in order to be protected under the ADA. The association provision of the ADA also protects people, regardless of whether or not they have a disability, from employment discrimination because of their relationship to a person with a known disability. 

A definition in three parts

The ADA defines a person with a disability as:

1. Someone with a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
2. Someone who has a record of having such an impairment.
3. Someone who is regarded as having such an impairment.

The ADA does not specify every impairment that it covers; its definition is meant to broadly cover people with disabilities to the greatest possible extent. Determining whether or not an impairment qualifies as a disability under the ADA is not always clear-cut.

According to the ADA, major life activities include — but are not exclusive to — “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 bodily functions, including but not limited to normal cell growth and digestive, excretory, neurological, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, reproductive, and immune system functions. The ADA’s definition of disability covers mental and psychological disorders such as intellectual disability, mental illness, organic brain syndrome, and specific learning disabilities.

An impairment that flares up periodically or is in remission is considered a disability under the ADA if it substantially limits one or more major life activities while active. Under the ADA, having a “record of” a disabling impairment means that an individual has a history of such an impairment, even if that person does not currently have a disability. Someone who undergoes cancer treatment and then returns to their job has a “record of” a disability, for instance.

Someone who is perceived or “regarded as” having a disability either has an impairment that does not substantially limit a major life activity, has an impairment that does substantially limit a major life activity but only because of other people’s attitudes towards them, or does not have any impairment but is treated as though they do. Unlike people who have an actual disability or a record of one, people who are “regarded as” having a disability are not entitled to reasonable accommodations.

Determining disability: mitigating measures and temporary impairments

Mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetics, and mobility devices should not be taken into account when determining whether a person’s impairment substantially limits a major life activity. Other mitigating measures include but are not limited to medical supplies, low-vision devices other than normal eyeglasses and contacts, hearing aids and implantable hearing devices, and oxygen therapy equipment and supplies. They can also include the use of assistive technology, reasonable accommodations, learned behavioral modifications, or therapy.

Under the ADAAA, the positive effects of mitigating measures should not be considered when determining if an impairment is a disability. If mitigating measures themselves cause limitations, however, those should be taken into account; someone who takes a medication that causes debilitating side effects would be considered to have a disability. Notably, ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses are not considered mitigating measures.

A temporary impairment with an actual or anticipated duration of six months or less may be considered a disability under the ADA if it is sufficiently limiting, but is not automatically covered by the ADA. Temporary disabilities may require temporary accommodations. Short-term illnesses and injuries that are relatively minor do not count as disabilities under the ADA.

What the ADA does not cover

The ADA does not consider someone who is currently using illegal drugs as a person with a disability on the basis of their drug use. Other conditions such as sexual paraphilias, gender identity disorders that do not result from physical impairments, compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania, and psychoactive substance use disorders are not covered as disabilities under the ADA.

Employers do not violate the ADA by prohibiting employees from illegally using drugs. However, former illegal substance users who have been successfully rehabilitated or are currently participating in a rehabilitation program and no longer using are protected. A person with a former drug addiction may be protected under the ADA since the addiction could be a substantially limiting impairment.

Unlike current illegal drug users, alcoholics may be considered disabled under the ADA and are not automatically excluded from protection. If an alcoholic is qualified to perform the essential functions of their job, for instance, an employer may be required to provide reasonable accommodations such as flexible scheduling to attend counseling. Employers may discipline, fire, or deny employment to an alcoholic whose drinking adversely affects their job performance, and can require that employees not be under the influence of alcohol.