Dallas disability discrimination lawyers at Carter Law Group are ready to build a strong and effective case for you. Contact us today. Call (214) 390-4173
Disability Discrimination Overview
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 forbids employers and potential employers from discriminating against mentally and/or physically disabled employees and job applicants in:
hiring, training, benefits awards and restrictions, compensation, promotions, firing, layoffs, harassment, and other terms and privileges of employment
In practice, disability discrimination often looks like:
- Refusing to make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s or applicant’s mental or physical disability;
- Teasing, harassing, mocking, or joking at an employee’s expense after the employee discloses a disability like HIV, diabetes, cancer, or epilepsy.
- Physically avoiding an employee with HIV
- Allowing stereotypes of a person’s disability to dictate what jobs that person is capable of
- An employer believing that a disabled employee is incapable of performing a certain task, despite the employee being qualified and able.
- Engaging in ableism when conducting business.
For purposes of discrimination a person with a disability is defined as someone who:
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a medical or other record of such an impairment; is regarded as having such an impairment.
Since 2008,the ADA has also protected individuals with HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, and a wide range of other disabilities.
THE ADA’S RULES FOR EMPLOYERS
Under the ADA, an employer is required to reasonably accommodate disabilities, both physical and mental, and is prohibited from discriminating against someone with a disability and retaliating against someone who opposes or acts on that discrimination.
The ADA also established rules for maintaining and using a disabled employee’s medical records. Primarily:
- Employers cannot ask job applicants about their medical information.
- Employers cannot require job applicants to undergo a physical examination prior to offering employment. After employment is offered, an employer can only ask for a medical examination if all employees in similar jobs also have to undergo a medical examination.
- If an employer declines to hire you based on the results of a medical examination, the employer must prove that it is physically impossible for you to do the work required.
REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
Employers are expected to work with persons with disabilities to find and provide the best solution for both the disabled employee and the company that allows the employee to do their job. An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation if it would allow a disabled employee to perform the essential functions of their job.
In practice, reasonable accommodations can look like:
- Making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities
- Restructuring job duties, modifying work schedules, or reassigning to a vacant position
- Acquiring new or modifying existing equipment or devices, examinations, training materials, or policies so that they are accessible to persons with disabilities
- Providing qualified readers or interpreters to persons with disabilities
- Allowing a person to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Carter Law Group Fights For Disability Discrimination Victims
Victims of disability discrimination can be entitled to back pay, front pay, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, job reinstatement, and/or appropriate workplace accommodations. But timing for a discrimination case is critical – a federal worker must generally file a complaint with the EEO office of their agency within 45 days of the discriminatory act and other workers generally have 180 to 300 days. Contact a Dallas disability discrimination lawyer at Carter Law Group, to immediately begin building a strong and effective case.
Let’s meet. And let’s right that wrong. Together.
