ADA (Disability Discrimination) Damages Calculator
ADA Title I prohibits workplace disability discrimination. Damages include back pay (uncapped), front pay (uncapped), compensatory + punitive (capped at $50K–$300K by employer size), and attorney's fees.
| Back pay (months × salary − mitigation) | — |
| Front pay (years × salary) | — |
| Compensatory (capped) | — |
| Cap on compensatory + punitive | — |
| Attorney's fees (paid by employer) | — |
| Total ADA recovery | — |
The Americans with Disabilities Act Title I prohibits workplace disability discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees. Damages include back pay (lost wages from termination to judgment, uncapped), front pay (future lost wages, uncapped), compensatory damages for emotional distress (capped by employer size from $50K to $300K), punitive damages (sharing the same cap), and mandatory attorney's fees for prevailing plaintiffs.
Reasonable Accommodation Is The Most Common Claim
The largest category of ADA cases involves failure to provide reasonable accommodation. The employer must engage in an interactive process to identify accommodations that would let the employee perform essential job functions. Common accommodations: modified schedule, accessible workspace, assistive technology, reassignment to a vacant position, additional unpaid leave. The employer can refuse if accommodation imposes undue hardship — measured by cost relative to employer size. Failure to engage in the interactive process is itself a violation in most circuits.
Damages Caps By Employer Size
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (42 USC 1981a) caps compensatory + punitive damages combined at: $50,000 for 15-100 employees, $100,000 for 101-200, $200,000 for 201-500, $300,000 for 501+. These caps apply per plaintiff per case, not per claim. Back pay and front pay are NOT capped — these are equitable remedies. In high-earner cases the uncapped equitable damages dwarf the capped compensatory damages. Attorney's fees are also uncapped and routinely run $100K-$500K in litigated cases, paid by the employer when plaintiff prevails.
Last updated May 2026. Sources: EEOC ADA.