The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act are the federal and state laws, respectively, protecting individuals against discrimination based upon a mental or physical disability. If you believe you were unfairly discriminated against as the result of a physical or mental impairment, the law prohibits discrimination against job applicants and disabled employees on the part of an employer. A person’s disability should not prevent them from holding a job and pursuing a career. You may be entitled to compensation.
However, the state and federal disability laws can be complicated and you should never try to navigate the court system alone, especially when it comes to protecting your livelihood and defending your rights under the law. The Law Office of Fahim Rahman has been successfully advocating for employees who have been discriminated against by employers who continue to violate the California law and federal law protecting qualified employees.
Call today to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys to explain the disability discrimination that you experienced in your workplace and we can determine whether or not you have a case.
The law substantially limits the time you have to protect your rights. If you were the victim of discrimination based on your disability in the state of California, you have three years to file a claim. If you wish to file a federal claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, you have less than a year – three hundred days – to file suit against your employer.
Qualifying Disability Under State Law
In California, ‘disability’ is very broadly defined. Many individuals who have lost out on a job opportunity or found themselves dismissed from a position of employment may not realize they have been discriminated against because they are unaware of what defines a qualifying disability as per the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The definition includes any actual or perceived physical or mental disability, medical condition, that severely limits one or more major life activities of the disabled individual.
These include, but are not limited to, physical or mental impairment where the individual is legally blind, undergoing treatment for cancer, has difficulty with mobility, diagnosed with any number of illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or medical conditions like immunodeficiency, diabetes, and many other health impairment or disabilities that can result in an individual having significant difficulty in his or her daily life.
What Constitutes Disability Discrimination in the Workplace?
While state and federal law both establish a clear and concise framework to determine how an employee’s disability prevents them from discrimination, many employers continue to violate these laws and put hard-working disabled Californians at a disadvantage in the workplace.
The following are just some of the most common instances of disability discrimination in the workplace:
Unfair Hiring Practices
Disabled job applicants are immediately denied a vacant position or a promotion simply because of their disability, despite showing no evidence of an inability to perform the fundamental duties of that position. All disabled individuals have the right to be given equal consideration for an employment opportunity and using the applicant’s disability as a determining factor when hiring to fill any position is unlawful and a breach of the Fair Housing and Employment Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Increased Evaluations
When a manager or supervisor closely monitors a disabled employee or subjects that individual to higher levels of scrutiny solely because of that individual’s disability, this is another example of discrimination in the workplace and it can be humiliating and embarrassing. Disabled employees should not be scrutinized any more routinely than other current employees in the organization.
Lacking Reasonable Accommodations
When any organization or business operation denies disabled employees the accommodations necessary for them to perform their responsibilities and duties, it could be grounds for a disability discrimination lawsuit. These accommodations include available ADA compliant wheelchair ramps, allowing an employee to relocate his or her work space to make it easier for them to perform the basic functions of their job, and offer medical leave when needed to seek medical care related to their particular condition.
Interfering with the Employee’s Ability to Perform Job Duties
Discrimination based on the employee’s disability when he or she is denied certain job positions in the organization or denied access to clients and segregated from meetings or functions due to their disability is an example of particularly obvious discrimination in the workplace. This is prohibited by law and any employer caught violating the law in this manner can be subject to a claim.
Disability Harassment in the Workplace
Mistreatment of any disabled employees from managers or colleagues including making derogatory comments or jokes about an individual’s illness, disability, or condition can be considered harassment in the workplace and should not be tolerated by anyone.
If you have been subject to inappropriate comments, slander, or other remarks intended to poke fun or embarrass you in the workplace, that places an undue burden on you as an employee and you may have the opportunity to file a disability discrimination lawsuit.
Protecting Your Rights Under the Law
If you have experienced disability discrimination in a workplace that fails to provide reasonable accommodation or has otherwise violated your civil rights due to an actual or perceived disability or medical condition, you have every right to pursue legal remedies and compensation for lost wages and punitive damages in the court of law.
But it can be tough to know how to proceed with filing a claim and exercising your rights through state or federal agencies. The Law Office of Fahim Rahman has been a staunch ally and defender of disabled individuals who have been exploited or harassed by employers who refuse to take even the simplest steps to offer reasonable accommodations like job restructuring, upgrading existing facilities to become ADA compliant, and committing egregious violations like cutting an employee’s hours as a form of retaliation for that employee requesting medical leave to which they are entitled under the law.
No employee deserves to be discriminated against for a disability or condition and our team of disability discrimination attorneys are the best in the business, winning cases in state and federal court when all other avenues for resolution have failed.
Taking Steps to Resolve Disability Discrimination Violations of a Qualified Individual
If an employee tells the human resources department about a violation of the FEHA or ADA and nothing is done about that complaint, a variety of alternatives exist for addressing the violation.
Federal disability laws are explicit about prohibiting workplace disability discrimination and after all good faith efforts have been insufficient, working with a skilled workplace disability discrimination lawyer can get you the compensation you deserve.
The following are some of the ways you can address this type of discrimination in the workplace and, in the event these fail to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, legal recourse may be the next logical step for holding an employer accountable for his or her behavior or the actions of others in their organization.
Hiring the Right Attorney
In any matter that you intend to bring before a court of law, going it alone is a recipe for failure. Even one minor mistake can be devastating to your case and if you have overlooked a detail or forgotten to perform a simple but essential step in the process, your case can be lost or dismissed before you’ve even had a chance to present the facts of the discrimination committed against you.
That’s why it is absolutely vital that you talk to one of our attorneys at the Law Office of Fahim Rahman. During your free consultation, you can show us all of your documents and evidence outlining in detail when, where, and how you were discriminated against in the workplace due to your disability.
This is not a time to feel ashamed or humiliated by what’s happened, now is the time to take control of the situation and working with our expert legal team can give you the advantage you need for holding your employer accountable under state and federal laws.
We specialize in taking these types of cases to court, presenting the facts, and arguing the merits of the case based on the suffering you endured as a result of the employer’s callous and unlawful behavior.
You deserve to have your voice heard and you deserve to be treated with respect by your peers, colleagues, and supervisors in the workplace. Protect your rights and prevent this discrimination based on mental or physical disability from happening to you or anyone else in the organization.
If a lawsuit is filed, it may still be settled out of court or tried before a judge and our attorneys have a multitude of experience in every facet of the legal process when it comes to defending the rights of disabled individuals who have been discriminated against in the workplace.
Are You Ready to Schedule Your Free Consultation?
Why wait? Call the Law Office of Fahim Rahman today to schedule a free consultation for addressing the disability discrimination you have experienced at your workplace. The law grants disabled employees specific rights to perform their duties and provides strict penalties for employers who violate those rights in a discriminatory fashion for any reason. Contact us and we can advise you on the definitions of the law and help determine if you have a case for taking your employer to court.