If a worker is eligible for workers comp, does this mean he automatically has a “disability” for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
No. Many injuries that qualify for worker’s comp are not serious enough to make someone “disabled” for purposes of filing an ADA claim. Injured workers are “disabled” under the ADA only if their injury makes them “substantially limited in a major life activity” such as working, walking or breathing. However, the ADA also covers workers whose company perceives them as disabled. Therefore, even if a worker isn’t injured seriously enough to be “disabled”, he might still be covered if his employer discriminates against him because of his impairment, such as by refusing to let him come back to work.
