They don't always. I was terminated from my executive-level nursing job in May after I returned from medical leave for a nasty meltdown that nearly landed me in the hospital. It was around the time for our second re-inspection by the state, and the timing was unfortunate but I couldn't help it.

The stress of that position was killing me, so being let go was a blessing in disguise, but I'll never again make the mistake of believing the ADA will back me up if I run into similar trouble in the future. That company had figured out how to make an end run around the ADA and exploited it shamelessly.

In fact, a friend who stayed on and was in on the exit interview with the state inspectors told me that the corporate people basically threw me under the bus, saying something along the lines of "our nurse was mentally ill and couldn't handle the job, now see how well we're doing now that we've hired a new one".