(a) General. No qualified individual shall, on the basis of disability, be subjected to discrimination in employment under any program or activity to which this part applies.

(b) Employment discrimination standards. The standards used to determine whether paragraph (a) of this section has been violated shall be the standards applied under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.) and, as such sections relate to employment, the provisions of sections 501 through 504 and 510 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12201-12204 and 12210), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-325), as such standards are implemented in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's regulation at 29 CFR part 1630. The procedures to be used to determine whether paragraph (a) of this section has been violated shall be the procedures set forth in § 1251.400 of this part.

[81 FR 3712, Jan. 22, 2016]

(a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with disabilities unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity.

(b) Reasonable accommodation may include:

(1) Making facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and

(2) Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, the provision of readers or interpreters, and other similar actions.

(c) In determining pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's programor activity, factors to be considered include:

(1) The overall size of the recipient's program or activity with respect to number of employees, number and type of facilities, and size of budget;

(2) The type of the recipient's operation, including the composition and structure of the recipient's workforce; and

(3) The nature and cost of the accommodation needed.

(d) A recipient may not deny any employment opportunity to a qualified applicant or employee with a disability if the basis for the denial is the need to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental limitations of the employee or applicant.

[51 FR 26862, July 28, 1986, as amended at 68 FR 51351, Aug. 26, 2003]

(a) A recipient may not make use of any employment test or other selection criterion that screens out or tends to screen out individuals with disabilities or any class of individuals with disabilities unless:

(1) The test score or other selection criterion, as used by the recipient, is shown to be job-related for the position in question; and

(2) Alternative job-related tests of criteria that do not screen out or tend to screen out as many individuals with disabilities are not shown by the Associate Administrator to be available.

(b) A recipient shall select and administer tests concerning employment so as best to ensure that, when administered to an applicant or employee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the applicant's or employee's job skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the applicant's or employee's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

[51 FR 26862, July 28, 1986, as amended at 81 FR 3712, Jan. 22, 2016]

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, a recipient may not conduct a preemployment medical examination or may not make preemployment inquiry of an applicant as to whether the applicant is a individual with a disabilityor as to the nature or severity of a disability. A recipient may, however, make preemployment inquiry into an applicant's ability to perform job-related functions.

(b) When a recipient is taking remedial action to correct the effects of past discrimination pursuant to § 1251.105(a), when a recipient is taking voluntary action to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limited participation in its Federally assisted program or activity pursuant to § 1251.105(b), or when a recipient is taking affirmative action pursuant to section 504 of the Act, the recipient may invite applicants for employment to indicate whether and to what extent they are handicapped, provided that:

(1) The recipient states clearly on any written questionnaire used for this purpose or makes clear orally if no written questionnaire is used that the information requested is intended for use solely in connection with its remedial action obligations or its voluntary of affirmative action efforts; and

(2) The recipient states clearly that the information is being requested on a voluntary basis, that it will be kept confidential as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, that refusal to provide it will not subject the applicant or employee to any adverse treatment, and that it will be used only in accordance with this part.

(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a recipient from conditioning an offer of employment on the results of a medical examination conducted prior to the employee's entrance on duty, provided that:

(1) All entering employees are subjected to such an examination regardless of disability; and

(2) The results of such an examination are used only in accordance with the requirements of this part.

(d) Information obtained in accordance with this section as to the medical condition or history of the applicant shall be collected and maintained on separate forms that shall be accorded confidentiality as medical records, except that:

(1) Supervisors and managers may be informed regarding restrictions on the work or duties of individuals with disabilities and regarding necessary accommodations;

(2) First aid and safety personnel may be informed, where appropriate, if the condition might require emergency treatment; and

(3) Government officials investigating compliance with the Act shall be provided relevant information upon request.