ADA Compliance Lawyers in New York
At Nisar Law Group, P.C., we understand the importance of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for businesses of all sizes. Our team of experienced ADA attorneys can help you ensure that your business is in compliance with ADA regulations.
What is the ADA?
How can we help?
Our ADA attorneys have extensive experience working with businesses to ensure ADA compliance. We can help you:
- Conduct an accessibility audit of your business to identify areas that need improvement
- Create an ADA compliance plan tailored to your business
- Provide ongoing support to ensure that your business remains in compliance with ADA regulations
- Defend your business in the event of an ADA lawsuit
Why choose Nisar Law Group, P.C.?
Contact Our ADA Compliance Lawyer
Please schedule a consultation with our New York ADA compliance lawyers by calling (212) 600-9534 or submitting an online contact form today.
Why We're the Right Choice
- Seasoned Litigators Who Have Handled Numerous Jury & Bench Trials
- Providing Representation with Clarity, Honesty & Integrity
- Building Long-Term Affiliations & Relationships
- Offering Consultations for All Case Types We Handle
Frequently Asked Questions About: ADA Compliance
ADA compliance for employees means you have the right to work in an environment free from disability discrimination and to receive reasonable accommodations that help you perform your job effectively. Your employer must treat you fairly in all aspects of employment—hiring, promotions, job assignments, training, benefits, and termination decisions.
As an employee, ADA compliance protects you from discrimination based on your actual disability, a record of disability, or being regarded as having a disability. Your employer cannot make assumptions about your abilities based on stereotypes or ask intrusive medical questions that aren’t job-related.
The law also requires your employer to engage in an “interactive process” with you to identify reasonable accommodations. This means they must work with you in good faith to find solutions that allow you to perform your essential job functions without causing undue hardship to the business.
The most common ADA violation is the failure to provide reasonable accommodations or engage in the interactive process. Many employers either ignore accommodation requests entirely, dismiss them without proper consideration, or fail to work collaboratively with employees to find effective solutions.
Another frequent violation involves asking inappropriate medical questions during interviews or after hiring. Employers often ask questions like “Do you have any health problems?” or require medical exams that aren’t job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Retaliation against employees who request accommodations is also extremely common. This includes firing, demoting, or otherwise punishing employees for asserting their ADA rights, which is separately prohibited under the law and can result in additional damages.
The ADA is built on five core principles that guide workplace compliance. First is equal opportunity—ensuring people with disabilities have the same chances for employment as everyone else. Second is reasonable accommodation—requiring employers to make necessary adjustments unless they cause undue hardship.
Third is the focus on essential job functions—employers must identify what tasks are truly necessary for a position versus those that are marginal. Fourth is individualized assessment—decisions must be based on a person’s actual abilities, not assumptions about their disability.
Fifth is integration—people with disabilities should be included in the same activities and have access to the same benefits as other employees, rather than being segregated or excluded. These principles work together to create workplaces where disability doesn’t determine employment opportunities.
A good example of ADA compliance is when an employee with arthritis requests an ergonomic keyboard and adjustable desk to reduce joint pain, and the employer promptly provides these accommodations after engaging in the interactive process to understand the employee’s needs.
Another example is when an employer modifies their usual interview process to accommodate a candidate with social anxiety by allowing extra time, providing questions in advance, or conducting the interview in a quieter setting. The key is that the accommodation enables the person to demonstrate their qualifications.
ADA compliance also includes ensuring physical accessibility (ramps, accessible parking, proper door widths), digital accessibility (screen reader compatible software), and policy modifications (allowing service animals, flexible schedules for medical appointments, or modified dress codes for medical devices).
The ADA doesn’t guarantee job security, but it does protect you from being fired because of your disability. Your employer can still terminate you for legitimate reasons like poor performance, misconduct, or business downsizing, as long as the decision isn’t related to your disability.
However, your employer cannot fire you simply because you have a disability, request reasonable accommodations, or because they assume you can’t do the job. They also cannot fire you for filing an ADA complaint or participating in an ADA investigation—that’s illegal retaliation.
If you’re facing termination, the key question is whether your disability played a role in the decision. Suspicious timing (like being fired shortly after requesting accommodation), inconsistent application of policies, or comments linking your termination to your disability can all indicate illegal discrimination.
Unreasonable accommodations are those that would fundamentally alter the nature of the job or create significant expense or disruption for the employer. For example, eliminating an essential job function (like requiring a truck driver who can’t drive due to vision loss to continue in that role) would be unreasonable.
Accommodations that create undue hardship based on the employer’s size and resources are also unreasonable. For a small business, providing a full-time aide might be unreasonable, while a large corporation might be expected to provide more extensive accommodations.
Personal items like hearing aids, wheelchairs, or prescription glasses are generally the employee’s responsibility, not the employer’s. However, the line isn’t always clear—specialized software might be the employer’s responsibility while basic assistive devices might not be.
An ADA disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This includes obvious conditions like mobility impairments, blindness, or deafness, but also less visible conditions like diabetes, epilepsy, depression, anxiety disorders, or chronic pain conditions.
Major life activities include basic functions like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, thinking, concentrating, communicating, working, and caring for yourself. The condition doesn’t need to be permanent—temporary impairments that substantially limit these activities can qualify.
You’re also protected if you have a record of a disability (like a history of cancer in remission) or if you’re regarded as having a disability, even if you don’t actually have one. This protects against discrimination based on assumptions or stereotypes about disability.
A classic ADA violation occurs when an employer refuses to hire someone because they use a wheelchair, assuming they can’t do the job without even discussing what accommodations might be needed. This violates the ADA’s requirement for individualized assessment rather than assumptions based on disability.
Another common violation is when an employer asks medical questions during interviews like “Do you have any health problems?” or “How many sick days did you use last year?” These questions are prohibited because they’re not job-related and occur before a conditional job offer.
Failing to provide reasonable accommodations is also a frequent violation. For example, if an employee with diabetes requests brief breaks to check blood sugar and eat snacks, and the employer refuses without exploring whether this would cause undue hardship, that’s likely an ADA violation.
To prove ADA disability status, you typically need medical documentation that shows you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. This might include doctor’s records, test results, treatment history, or a letter from your healthcare provider explaining your condition and its limitations.
The documentation should be specific about how your condition affects major life activities like walking, seeing, hearing, learning, working, or caring for yourself. It should also indicate whether the limitation is permanent or temporary and what accommodations might help you perform job functions.
You don’t need to provide your entire medical history—just information that’s relevant to establishing your disability status and accommodation needs. Your employer can request clarification if the initial documentation is insufficient, but they cannot ask for unrelated medical information.
An employer can deny accommodation requests, but only under specific circumstances and after engaging in the interactive process. They can deny accommodations that would create undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense relative to their size and resources) or that would fundamentally alter essential job functions.
However, they cannot deny accommodations simply because they’re inconvenient, cost some money, or because they don’t want to make changes. The employer must prove that the accommodation would create genuine undue hardship, not just cite cost or inconvenience.
If your employer denies your accommodation request, they should explain why and work with you to find alternative accommodations that might work. A flat denial without explanation or consideration of alternatives is likely an ADA violation that you can challenge through legal action.
