Michigan ADA: What you need to know

Michigan's Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act prohibits employment practices that discriminate on the basis of disability or genetic information unrelated to the individual's ability to perform the duties of a particular job. The Act also requires that an employer accommodate an individual's disability unless providing the accommodation would pose an undue hardship to the employer (MI Comp. Laws Sec. 37.1201 et seq.). The law covers all employers regardless of size. Under the Act, it is unlawful for an employer to:

• Discharge, fail or refuse to hire, recruit, promote, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because of a disability or genetic information.
• Limit, segregate, or classify an employee or applicant for employment in a way that deprives or tends to deprive an individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affects the status of an employee because of a disability or genetic information.
• Discharge, fail or refuse to hire, recruit, promote, or otherwise discriminate against an individual on the basis of physical or mental examinations that are not directly related to the requirements of the specific job.
• Discharge, fail or refuse to hire, recruit, promote, or otherwise discriminate against an individual when adaptive devices or aids would enable that individual to perform the specific requirements of the job.
• Require an individual to submit to a genetic test or to provide genetic information as a condition of employment or promotion.

Employers are also prohibited from directly or indirectly acquiring or having access to any genetic information of an employee, applicant, or a member of the employee's or applicant's family. However, an employer may use genetic ...