ADA & Legal Compliance Flashcards

A client with a learning disability requests extended time on a vocational evaluation battery. Under ADA principles, this accommodation is best justified because:

Answer: It removes a barrier that prevents accurate assessment of the client's actual abilities

Testing accommodations remove disability-related barriers so that evaluations measure the construct of interest rather than the impact of the disability.

Which law specifically prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment, relevant to vocational evaluators working with clients who have hereditary conditions?

Answer: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

GINA prohibits employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, pay, or other employment decisions.

When a vocational evaluator documents that a client has a 'record of impairment,' this addresses which prong of the ADA's three-part definition of disability?

Answer: Second prong – history of or being misclassified as having an impairment

The second prong protects individuals who have a history of a disability, such as a recovered cancer survivor, even if they are no longer impaired.

An employer refuses to hire a job applicant because they believe the applicant 'looks disabled' but the applicant has no actual impairment. The applicant's ADA claim would most likely rely on:

Answer: The 'regarded as' prong

The 'regarded as' prong protects individuals who are perceived to have a disability even if they do not have an actual impairment.

Under the ADA, 'major life activities' include which of the following?

Answer: Activities such as caring for oneself, seeing, communicating, and major bodily functions

The ADAAA expanded major life activities to include both traditional activities and the operation of major bodily functions.

A vocational evaluator is asked by an employer to assess whether a current employee with depression can return to work. Which legal principle should guide the evaluator's scope of inquiry?

Answer: Focus only on whether the individual can perform the essential functions of the specific job

The ADA requires analysis of whether the individual can perform essential job functions, not a broad review of mental health history.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has primary enforcement authority over which aspect of the ADA relevant to vocational evaluators?

Answer: Title I – Employment discrimination

The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination based on disability.