The ADA is unique among U.S. civil rights statutes. Whereas laws like Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) ban discrimination based on protected characteristics, the ADA goes further: it bans employers from even asking employees about their disabilities.

Architects sought to protect individuals with disabilities from the negative impacts of being forced to disclose confidential health information: both intentional discrimination and the potential social stigma of being identified as disabled. Unrelatedly, the ADA’s authors enacted a provision known as the “safe harbor” to preserve the insurance practice of underwriting: establishing the scope of coverage and setting rates based on claims data and sound actuarial principles. 42 U.S.C. § 12201(c). Congress sought to ensure that legitimate, differential ratesetting was not considered intentional disability-based discrimination under the ADA.