FEHA, which covers employers of five or more employees, requires employers to reasonably accommodate people with disabilities and provides greater protection from disability discrimination than the ADA. For example, under FEHA, someone is considered disabled if that person is “limited” in one or more of the major life activities, rather than “substantially limited” in those activities as required under the ADA.3

Private membership clubs (other than labor organizations) exempt from taxation by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c) also are exempt from the ADA. However, such organizations aren’t exempt from the disability discrimination provisions of FEHA, unless they’re religious, nonprofit organizations.

AIDS and HIV-positive status are considered protected disabilities under the federal ADA and the FEHA.4 In addition, these individuals can sue based on other forms of employment discrimination, invasion of privacy, defamation and AIDS-specific statutes that provide employees with legal recourse.5

California’s disability regulations prohibit discrimination based on perceived disabilities or perceived potential disabilities. The regulations also require accommodation for the residual effects of disabilities6 and provide guidance regarding the interactive process and medical documentation.

Additionally, the FEHA, like the ADA, prohibits employers from denying equal benefits to qualified applicants or employees with disabilities, including discriminatory allocations of fringe benefits.7

1. Govt. Code sec. 12940(a)