ADA & FEHA Quick Reference Guide: Definition of "Disability"
For HR professionals who need to get this right the first time.
The line between what’s covered and what isn’t, isn’t always obvious. This reference guide gives you the clarity to act with confidence.
Disability accommodation is one of the highest-stakes areas in employment law. Get it wrong and the consequences range from costly litigation to genuine harm to the people you’re responsible for protecting.
But here’s what makes it harder than it should be: HR professionals are often navigating two overlapping frameworks at the same time. The ADA sets the federal floor. California’s FEHA extends well beyond it. The definitions differ. The thresholds differ. And the details that matter most are exactly the ones that are easiest to misremember under pressure.
That’s why we created the ADA & FEHA Quick Reference Guide — a concise, side-by-side resource designed to give HR professionals in California a fast, reliable answer to one of the most foundational questions in disability law: what actually qualifies as a disability under each framework?
This reference guide covers:
- Definition of “Disability” under both ADA and FEHA, including the critical distinction between “substantially limits” and simply “limits” a major life activity
- What is and isn’t covered, from chronic and episodic conditions like epilepsy, diabetes, PTSD, and autism, to conditions explicitly excluded under both laws
- The obesity special note and how California courts have approached it under FEHA
- Employer size thresholds so you know exactly which law applies to your organization
- Statutory citations for ADA and FEHA so you can go straight to the source when you need to
The guide ultimately helps HR professionals answer the question that comes up more often than it should:
Does this condition qualify, and which law governs how we respond?
Download the ADA & FEHA Quick Reference Guide to keep the definitions straight, stay compliant, and protect both your employees and your organization.
