ADA Rights vs. DoD Exemptions: A Legal Conflict That Leaves Veterans Behind

By Covenant of Courage | #ReasonableRanks Campaign

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) stands as one of the most powerful civil rights laws ever enacted—designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in employment, housing, and public life.

But for service members in uniform, those protections often stop at the barracks door.

That’s because the Department of Defense (DoD) is largely exempt from the ADA. This creates a troubling legal gap that allows disability-based discharges without requiring the same reasonable accommodations that civilian employers must provide by law.

And for thousands of injured, ill, or pregnant service members, this loophole isn’t just a technicality—it’s a crisis.

⚖️ The Promise of the ADA

Passed in 1990, the ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires reasonable accommodations to help people remain employed, independent, and included in society. If you’re a civilian employee with a back injury, your employer must attempt to reassign you to another position before termination.

Under Title I of the ADA, failure to accommodate a qualified employee can lead to major legal consequences.

🪖 The DoD Exception

But the ADA does not apply to active-duty military personnel. That means the military isn’t required to:

• Reassign injured service members to non-combat roles

• Provide alternative pathways for those who are pregnant, ill, or experiencing PTSD

• Explore telework, administrative duties, or retraining for disabled personnel

• Maintain them on the force in any role if they are no longer deployable

Instead, the military often uses a “deploy or get out” policy—formally known as Force Readiness Evaluation standards—to discharge those who cannot meet physical deployment requirements, regardless of how or when the disability occurred.

🚨 Where the Law Collides with Ethics

This disconnect raises a troubling question:

How can our country claim to champion disability rights while excluding the very people who risked everything to defend them?

Injured during basic training? Discharged.

Develop PTSD from a traumatic mission? Discharged.

Pregnancy renders you non-deployable? Discharged.

Under current policy, no reassignment is required, and no ADA-style protections apply. The result? Thousands of medically discharged veterans—many with limited benefits, career disruption, and long-term trauma.

💡 The Case for Reform

The #ReasonableRanks campaign believes it’s time to close this legal and moral gap.

We’re calling on Congress and the Department of Defense to:

• Establish a career reassignment framework for non-deployable personnel

• Create DoD internal policies mirroring ADA principles where possible

• Mandate transitional roles in cyber, training, logistics, and support functions

• Ensure those injured while preparing to serve are not cast aside without recourse

The DoD doesn’t have to adopt the entire ADA to embrace its values.

🛡️ Equal Dignity, Equal Opportunity

When military personnel become injured, ill, or disabled, they should be treated with the same dignity and consideration as civilians with similar conditions. Service doesn’t stop being valuable because it changes in form. We must build a military that reflects the full range of American values—including inclusion, compassion, and reasonable accommodation.

It’s not just a legal fix. It’s a moral one.

📢 Join the Movement

📝 Sign the petition → https://chng.it/5yXYvkBtMR

🌐 Learn more → www.covenantofcourage.com

📣 Share this article with #ReasonableRanks

Let’s ensure every veteran is treated with the respect they earned—and not pushed aside by policies stuck in the past.