The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees who are "qualified individuals with a disability." The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1973 (FMLA) sets minimum leave standards for employees for the birth and newborn care of a child, placement of a child for adoption or foster care, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, and for the employee’s serious health condition.
And Workers' Compensation provides for payment of compensation and rehabilitation for workplace injuries and assists in minimizing employer liability. While these individual policies are relatively straight-forward in their application in the workplace, understanding how these three laws intersect can be quite confusing and are open to problems if not handled correctly.
ADA, FMLA and Workers' Compensation have different goals and protections for employees, yet all three have provisions that may require an employer to give job-protected time off when the right circumstances are met.