Accommodating Known Disabilities

The ADA requires that reasonable accommodation be made only to the ''known'' physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual. An employer is not ''expected to accommodate disabilities of which it is unaware.'' Importantly, an employer need not recognize the legal significance of the facts concerning an employee's physical or mental impairment in order to trigger obligations under the ADA. If an employer simply knows of an employee's ''symptoms'' that may have a number of sources other than disability, then the employer will not be charged with knowledge of an employee's disability.