In an ideal world, employees with disabilities wouldn’t be treated any differently than their peers. Unfortunately, many employers fail in their duties to prevent discrimination based on disability.
All California employers have a responsibility to respect the rights of workers—and they can be held accountable under the law for mistreating, terminating, or failing to hire employees with disabilities.
The Orange County disability discrimination lawyers at Eldessouky Law have helped many victims recover compensation for workplace disability discrimination from employers who have violated employment law.
If you have questions about your rights as an employee in California, call our office at 714-409-8991 or fill out our online contact form.
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What Are Some Examples of Disability Discrimination in an Orange County Workplace?
Workplace disability discrimination occurs when an employer treats a current or potential employee unfavorably due to their disability. Examples of employer disability discrimination include:
- Pre-Employment Inquiries. Employers are prohibited from asking inappropriate questions about an applicant’s disability during the hiring process, especially if the questions are irrelevant to the job’s requirements.
- Refusal to Hire. The decision to hire should be based on an applicant’s qualifications and ability to perform the essential functions of the job. If an employer refuses to hire an applicant based on their disability, even if they are qualified for the job, it is discrimination.
- Unequal Pay or Benefits. Employers cannot pay an employee with a disability less than their non-disabled coworkers for the same work or deny them access to company benefits.
- Harassment. Subjecting an employee with a disability to offensive comments, jokes, or other forms of harassment based on their disability is discriminatory.
- Failure to Provide Reasonable Accommodations. If an employer will not provide reasonable accommodations to allow an employee with a disability to do their job effectively, it constitutes discrimination.
- Termination or Retaliation. Employers cannot fire an employee due to their disability or because they requested reasonable accommodations. They are also forbidden from retaliating against an employee for asserting their rights under disability laws.
- Segregation or Isolation. Assigning an employee to a specific role or workspace that isolates them from other employees without justification can be considered discriminatory.
- Job Assignments. Employers are not allowed to assign an employee with a disability less desirable tasks or projects solely based on their disability.
- Negative Stereotyping. Assuming that an employee with a disability cannot handle certain tasks or responsibilities due to preconceived stereotypes is a form of discrimination.
- Lack of Accessibility. If an employer’s premises, facilities, or digital resources are not accessible to employees with disabilities, it can be considered discrimination.
- Medical Examinations. Discrimination may take the form of unnecessary medical examinations or health inquiries that are not job-related.
If you have experienced any form of unfair treatment in an Orange County workplace due to your disability, contact our office for a free consultation at 714-409-8991. The experienced Orange County disability discrimination attorneys at Eldessouky Law are here to support you throughout the legal process as you seek compensation for your loss.
How Is “Disability” Defined in California Employment Law?
In addition to widely recognized injury-based and illness-based conditions, California law extends the definition of disability to any physical or mental impairment that “limits at least one major life activity.” For example, an employee could face disability discrimination while experiencing:
- Depression and psychiatric conditions
- Alcoholism or drug addiction
- Temporary impairments
- Cancer
- Cognitive or learning disabilities
- Pregnancy
In essence, California’s definition of what constitutes a “disability” shifts the focus from society’s ever-evolving perception of conditions that meet the definition of disability to concerns over whether a condition functionally limits a worker’s ability to perform their job. This approach allows those who need them, for whatever limiting medical reason, to request reasonable accommodation of their conditions in the workplace.
Have you been harassed, passed over, or lost income due to disability discrimination at your job? Our Orange County employment attorneys have experience defending clients from state and federal employment law violations. Contact our office at 714-409-8991 today to discuss your case in your confidential free consultation.
You Have Both Federal and State Protections Against Disability Discrimination at Work
Both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the State of California Civil Rights Department offer protection against disability discrimination. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job applications, hiring, firing, promotions, pay, training, and other terms and conditions of employment.
California’s Civil Rights Department (previously called the Fair Employment & Housing Act) also protects disabled workers. This law makes it illegal for an employer to fail or refuse to hire someone because of a physical or mental disability, to discriminate against someone in terms of pay, benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment, or to fail to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee.
In addition, it is the responsibility of an employer to stop disability discrimination in the workplace, regardless of whether it is intentional or not. This includes responding to known issues and ensuring disabled employees are not subjected to unfair treatment in the workplace.
When workers with disabilities are treated differently than their coworkers are in regards to any of these workplace realities as a result of their disabilities, their employers may be held liable for violations of the ADA and relevant state law. Call our Orange County disability discrimination lawyers at 714-409-8991 today or contact us online for your free consultation.
California Employers Are Required by Law to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Workers with Disabilities
Under both the ADA and California Civil Rights Department, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment or modification that allows disabled employees to perform their job duties without facing undue hardship.
A reasonable accommodation request may be made by a worker with disabilities if a modification or adjustment will allow them to execute their job-related duties. Generally, an employer can only reject a reasonable request for accommodation if that effort will create an “undue hardship,” such as operational challenges or a significant expense, for the employer.
Reasonable requests for accommodation might include:
- Revising work schedules to allow an employee to seek medical treatment
- Removing or reassigning physically demanding job duties
- Providing a visually- or hearing-impaired worker with adaptive technology necessary to perform job-related functions
- Permitting a worker to take a legally protected leave of absence (for a single span of time or intermittently) for medical reasons
- Adapting the work environment to provide accessible workstations
- Making necessary modifications to equipment or policies.
It is worth noting that the kinds of accommodation requests that can objectively be considered reasonable cannot be divorced from context. For example, it would not serve as an unreasonable hardship to a multi-million dollar corporation to allow one of its 250 content specialists to modify their work schedule to accommodate chemotherapy appointments. However, a small company that employs 20 workers may suffer undue hardship if its only receptionist regularly needs to be away from their desk for hours at a time during business hours to attend necessary medical appointments.
Generally speaking, an employer must embrace a good faith “interactive process” regarding employees with disabilities. This process must allow both parties to exchange information regarding the disabled worker’s functional limitations, ability to perform their job, and potential accommodations that the employer could potentially provide without suffering an undue burden.
Some employers may be ignorant of their duties to prevent disability discrimination or may fail to comply with the law. If you believe your employer is failing to provide reasonable accommodations for a disability, contact our Orange County disability discrimination attorneys at 714-409-8991 and let us fight for justice on your behalf.
Get a Free Consultation With an Orange County Disability Discrimination Lawyer
You deserve to have a safe and productive workplace environment that is free from discrimination. If your employer failed to prevent disability discrimination in the workplace, the Orange County employment lawyers at Eldessouky Law are here to help. We can help you navigate the legal process and hold your employer accountable for violating the law.
Our Orange County disability discrimination attorneys have a proven track record of helping victims recover the compensation they deserve. Call us at 714-409-8991 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about how we can help you with your disability discrimination case.
