Scope

• The ADA covers employers with at least 15 workers, including state and local governments, temporary-employment agencies and labor unions. It does not cover federal agencies.
  
  

Prohibitions

• The law bars any discrimination against disabled people in hiring, pay, training, performance assessment, promotion or other areas of workplace life.
  
  

Coverage

• The ADA protects people with a physical or mental issue that "substantially limits" their ability to perform "major life activities."
  
  

Activities

• The ADA defines "major life activities" broadly. The law was amended in 2008 to reverse Supreme Court rulings that had narrowed those definitions.
  
  

Accommodation

• Employers are required to try to make "reasonable accommodation" for disabled workers, such as making facilities more accessible or adjusting their work rules.
  
  

Exceptions

• The law specifically excludes ongoing illegal drug use or alcohol abuse as a disability. It also excludes cases in which a worker's disability would pose a "direct threat" to health and safety.