Executive Summary: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published additional guidance addressing whether an employer violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by requiring a high school diploma for a job. The guidance was issued in response to an earlier informal discussion letter in which the EEOC stated that such a requirement may violate the ADA if it screens out individuals who cannot obtain a diploma because of a learning disability, unless the employer can demonstrate that the requirement is job related and consistent with business necessity.

The EEOC stated that it issued the guidance, which is in question and answer format, in response to "significant commentary and conjecture" about the meaning and scope of the November 2011 discussion letter. In that letter, the agency stated:

if an employer adopts a high school diploma requirement for a job, and that requirement "screens out" an individual who is unable to graduate because of a learning disability that meets the ADA's definition of "disability," the employer may not apply the standard unless it can demonstrate that the diploma requirement is job related and consistent with business necessity. The employer will not be able to make this showing, for example, if the functions in question can easily be performed by someone who does not have a diploma.

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