The law protects neurodivergent workers. Employers who don’t accommodate ADHD and autism aren’t just being difficult, they are breaking federal law.
More adults than ever are receiving ADHD and autism diagnoses, and they’re bringing these conditions into the workplace. Unfortunately, many employers don’t know how to handle neurodivergent employees or actively discriminate against them. If you’re facing this situation, a disability discrimination lawyer in San Diego can help protect your rights.
The Rise of Adult Neurodivergent Diagnoses
Millions of adults are discovering they have ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, often after years of struggling in work environments that never quite fit. These aren’t new conditions. They’re newly recognized ones. Many professionals spent decades compensating, masking, or simply suffering through jobs that demanded cognitive processes their brains don’t naturally perform.
When these employees finally get diagnoses and request accommodations, they often hit a wall. Employers question whether ADHD and autism “count” as real disabilities. Managers dismiss accommodation requests as excuses for poor performance. HR departments drag their feet, demand excessive documentation, or simply ignore requests altogether.
What the Law Actually Says
The Americans with Disabilities Act protects employees with ADHD and autism entirely. The law defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Both ADHD and autism qualify when they significantly affect functions like concentrating, thinking, communicating, or interacting with others.
Here’s what many employers get wrong, the ADA doesn’t require employees to prove they can’t work at all. It requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations so employees can perform their essential job functions. That’s a massive difference, and one that courts consistently uphold.
Common Accommodations Employers Refuse
Neurodivergent employees often need simple, inexpensive accommodations. Yet employers routinely deny these requests or claim they create “undue hardship,” a legal standard that’s actually quite high.
A worker with ADHD might need noise-canceling headphones to filter out distracting office chatter. They might request written instructions instead of verbal ones, or need deadline reminders and project management tools. Some need flexible start times to accommodate medication schedules or the time of day when their focus peaks.
Autistic employees might request fluorescent light covers to reduce sensory overload, or permission to work remotely to avoid overwhelming social stimuli. They might need clear, direct communication instead of hints and subtext, or advance notice before meetings to prepare adequately. Studies show most workplace accommodations cost under $500, and many cost nothing.
The “Not Disabled Enough” Problem
Many neurodivergent employees face a cruel situation. They’ve succeeded professionally by developing coping mechanisms and working twice as hard as their colleagues. Then, when they request accommodations, employers point to their track record and claim they’re not really disabled.
Courts have rejected this logic repeatedly. The ADA protects people with disabilities who can perform their jobs, especially with accommodations. The fact that someone managed to succeed while struggling doesn’t mean they don’t deserve support.
In the 2025 case Gomez v. Aon, an account specialist with ADHD worked for years but struggled with remote work due to her condition. When she requested to work in the office full time as an accommodation, her employer initially denied the request and placed her on a performance improvement plan. Even after the accommodation was finally approved and her performance improved, she was fired shortly after. The case is ongoing in federal court in Illinois.
The Masking Tax
Autistic employees, in particular, often “mask” their autism at work. They suppress natural behaviors, force eye contact, and pretend to enjoy social interactions that drain them. This masking takes a lot of energy and often leads to burnout.
When these employees drop the mask or request accommodations that let them work more authentically, employers sometimes retaliate. They claim the employee’s behavior has “changed” or they’re “not a good culture fit anymore.” This reaction ignores that the employee was always autistic and simply stopped hiding it.
Several recent lawsuits have challenged this practice. Employees have successfully argued that punishing them for authentic autistic behavior like avoiding eye contact, preferring email to phone calls, or needing to stim constitutes disability discrimination.
The Interactive Process Failures
The ADA requires employers to engage in an “interactive process” when employees request accommodations. This means having a good faith conversation about what the employee needs and how the employer can provide it.
In practice, many employers sabotage this process by ignoring accommodation requests. They demand doctors’ notes that specify exact diagnoses and symptoms, information they’re not entitled to. They offer accommodations that the employee never requested while refusing the ones they actually need. They claim every suggestion creates undue hardship without actually analyzing the cost or disruption.
In a 2023 EEOC lawsuit against Otis Elevator Company, an assistant mechanic with autism and ADHD requested accommodations to help him process sounds and voices on noisy construction sites. The company failed to provide any accommodation for several months. Then, shortly after he requested help, Otis placed him on unpaid leave, claiming he had a foot injury. Despite multiple doctor’s notes clearing him to return to work, the company refused to allow him back for months. The EEOC charged that this was retaliation for requesting accommodations.
Performance Improvement Plans as Retaliation
A disturbing pattern appears in many neurodivergent discrimination cases. Employees request accommodations, and suddenly, management places them on performance improvement plans.
The timing tells the story. An employee performs adequately for years. They request accommodations for recently diagnosed ADHD or autism. Within weeks, their manager documents supposed performance problems that never mattered before. The PIP sets impossible standards or measures subjective qualities like “culture fit” or “communication style,” areas where neurodivergent employees naturally differ from neurotypical colleagues.
Courts increasingly recognize these PIPs for what they are: retaliation for exercising ADA rights. Several employees have won substantial settlements after showing the suspicious timing between their accommodation requests and negative performance reviews.
What Neurodivergent Employees Can Do
If you have ADHD or autism and face workplace discrimination, document everything. Put accommodation requests in writing and keep copies of emails, performance reviews, and any communications about your disability or accommodations.
You don’t need to disclose your diagnosis to request accommodations, but you do need to explain that you have a disability and what accommodations would help. Your doctor can provide a simple letter confirming you have a condition that qualifies as a disability under the ADA and that you need specific accommodations, without revealing your exact diagnosis.
If your employer refuses to accommodate you, retaliates against you, or fires you after requesting accommodations, contact an employment attorney. Many work on contingency, meaning you don’t pay unless you win.
The law protects neurodivergent workers. Employers who don’t accommodate ADHD and autism aren’t just being difficult, they are breaking federal law.
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