Traumatic Brain Injury and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for the Social Work Profession

The practice of social work has been greatly affected by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Title I of the statute prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, including the increasing number of workers who are returning to work after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This article examines the extent to which the ADA protects those with TBI from being harassed, being denied reasonable workplace accommodations, or suffering other adverse actions related to perceived discrimination. To do so, it relies on judicial decisions from U.S. federal courts involving alleged workplace discrimination of this population. Implications for social work practice are noted with the intent of increasing ADA awareness among professionals providing services to people who meet the criteria for disability under the ADA as well as to those persons who do not. The authors hope to encourage social workers to rely on case law analysis as a mechanism to provide further evidence of the systematic problems faced by people with TBI and thus increase their visibility.