No, I don't see anything that you've described to be discriminatory in any form, shape, or manner.
This MIGHT help you better understand "disability", as described by the ADA.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq., generally prohibits employment discrimination by "covered entities" against a "qualified individual with a disability." "Covered entities" include employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, joint labor-management committees, and "discrimination" is prohibited in connection with job applications, hiring, firing, promotion, pay, training, and all other terms, conditions, benefits, and privileges of employment. The law also applies to job recruitment and advertising. Employers and other covered entities are required to make "reasonable accommodations" for the known physical or mental limitations of individuals with disabilities.
The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including private employers and state and local governments. Excluded from coverage under the ADA are the federal government and corporations owned by the federal government (which in general are covered by the 1973 Rehabilitation Act), Native American Indian tribes, bona fide tax-exempt private membership clubs, and certain religious organizations.
Defining "Disability"
Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is one who 1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, 2) has a record of such impairment, or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment.
"Major life activities" are things such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. The term also includes the operation of a major bodily function, like the functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
The existence of a disability is determined without consideration of "miti-gating measures" such as medication, medical supplies, and assistive technology devices such as hearing aids or mobility devices.
A condition that comes and goes, or that is in remission, is considered a disability if that condition substantially limits a major life activity when it is active. However, a condition that only lasts a short time – such as a sprained ankle, broken leg, or seasonal flu – generally would not be covered.
A person who has a past record of a disability, or who has a history of a disability, even if they do not have a disability now, is protected from dis-crimination. This part of the definition might cover, for example, a person who has recovered from cancer or mental illness.
A person meets the requirement of being "regarded as having such an impairment" if they are treated as if they had a disability, even if they do not in fact have, and never had, a disability.
Excluded Classes
The ADA excludes from its definition of "disability" homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism, and transsexualism. Pedophilia, exhibitionism, and voyeurism are also excluded. If an individual with one of these conditions also has an impairment that is considered a disability under the ADA, then that individual will be covered with regard to that impairment.
Both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 allow employers to take actions against employees for current drug abuse, and against employees whose use of alcohol affects their job performance. Employers may not, however, discriminate against a past or rehabilitated illegal drug user or alcoholic.
Qualified Individual
A "qualified individual with a disability" is a person with a disability who can perform the essential functions of a job. If the person is able to perform the essential functions of the job except for limitations caused by the disability, the employer must consider whether the person could perform these functions with reasonable accommodations.
Generally, it is the employer who determines the essential functions of the job. The ADA does not require employers to formulate and maintain job descriptions. Written descriptions can help determine what the essential functions of a job are, but they are not the only evidence and are not always accurate.
Reasonable Accommodation/Undue Hardship
The ADA requires an employer to make a "reasonable accommodation" to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified person with a disability, unless to do so would impose an "undue hardship." A "rea-sonable accommodation" may be any change in or adjustment to a job, or to the work environment, that enables a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to apply for the job, to do the essential job functions, or to have equal rights on the job. Examples include installing ramps and making struc-tural modifications for an employee using a wheelchair, providing a TDD or a sign language interpreter for a deaf employee, or restructuring a job so that its essential functions can be performed by an individual with a disability.
An employer will not be required to make an accommodation if to do so would impose an "undue hardship." An undue hardship is defined as "an action requiring significant difficulty or expense." To determine whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship, the following factors will be considered: 1) the nature and size of the accommodation; 2) the size, type, and financial resources of the specific facility where the accommodation would have to be made; 3) the size, type, and financial resources of the covered employer; and 4) the covered employer's type of operation, including the composition, structure, and functions of its work force, and the geographic separateness and administrative or fiscal relationship between the facility and the covered employer.
If a particular accommodation would be an undue hardship, the employer must try to identify another accommodation that would not be an undue hardship. Also, if the cost of an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer, the individual with a disability should be given the option of paying some of the costs or getting the accommodation from another source.
There is a detailed explanation of the reasonable accommodation requirement in the EEOC handout online at:
Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA.
If you are trying to get help on figuring out what accommodation might be appropriate, you or your employer might contact the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) at 1-800-526-7234 (Voice), 1-877-781-9403 (TTY).
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