• Asking employees if they have or ever had a disability, how they became disabled, or inquiring about the disability’s nature or severity.
• Asking employees to provide medical documentation about the disability’s underlying cause. (You may ask employees to provide documentation that they have a disability. For more information, see Disability Documentation.)
• Asking employees’ coworkers, family members, physicians, or other persons about an employee’s disability.
• Asking employees about past addiction to illegal drugs or participation in a rehabilitation program.
• Asking about employees’ genetic information.
• Asking about employees’ prior workers’ compensation history.
• Asking employees if they currently take any prescription drugs or medications or if they’ve done so in the past.
• Monitoring employees’ use of prescription drugs or medications.
• Asking employees a broad question about their impairments to elicit information on a disability, for example, “What impairments do you have?”

The ADA does permit questions that aren’t likely to elicit information on a disability, such as:

• Asking generally about employees’ well-being, for example, “How are you?”
• Asking employees who look tired or ill if they’re feeling okay.
• Asking employees who are sneezing or coughing if they have a cold or allergies.
• Asking how employees are doing following the death of a loved one or the end of a marriage or relationship.
• Asking employees about non-disability-related impairments, for example, “How did you break your leg?”
• Asking employees if they can perform a job’s functions.
• Asking employees if they’ve been drinking.
• Asking employees about their current illegal drug use.
• Asking pregnant employees how they’re feeling or when the baby is due.
• Asking employees to provide the name and telephone number of a person to contact in case of a medical emergency.