Learn To Recognize Disability Discrimination And Know Your Rights

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides important protections in the workplace for people living with disabilities. But nearly 30 years after its passage, the ADA continues to be misunderstood, under-utilized and poorly enforced — particularly as it relates to workplace discrimination.

EllisonLegal is committed to fighting back against Americans with Disabilities Act violations in Michigan. The two broad categories of disability discrimination employment lawyers tend to see are hiring/promotion discrimination and failure to provide reasonable accommodations.

If you suffer from a disability and believe that it has hindered your employment opportunities or job status, keep reading to learn more about what I may be able to do for you.

Disability Discrimination In Hiring And Promoting

An employer cannot legally base an employment decision on an applicant’s physical or mental disability, unless the particular disability would not allow the applicant to perform the essential functions of the job. You know your strengths and limitations better than anyone, so chances are good that you wouldn’t apply for a job you didn’t think you could perform.

Still, employers often make unfounded assumptions about your performance ability based on a visible disability, knowledge of a hidden disability (mental health diagnosis, for instance), or incorrect perception of a disability, and may deny you a job or promotion based on those assumptions.

Disability discrimination can be difficult to prove, but red flags sometimes signal that the employer’s stated reason for a decision is not the real one. For instance, you might have done very well in a phone interview and were offered a job, only to have the offer withdrawn when you showed up for work in a wheelchair. An example such as this is just one of many that would warrant further discussion with an attorney.

Failure To Provide Reasonable Accommodations

The ADA requires employers to provide their employees with “reasonable accommodations” to allow them to continue working with a disability, unless those accommodations would pose an “undue hardship” to the employer (often interpreted as significant difficulty or expense).

Examples could include:

• Making reasonable physical changes to the office environment or an employee’s desk/workstation to accommodate mobility issues
• Allowing an employee a modified work schedule to accommodate medical appointments, needed rest periods, etc.
• Allowing an employee to work remotely, at least part of the time, to accommodate physical limitations or mental health limitations (such as anxiety)

Whether a proposed accommodation is reasonable or an undue hardship is often where disputes crop up. EllisonLegal assists employees in sorting through these issues, considering other potential options that will accommodate the disability, and then advocating with the employer for a good solution.

Get Your Questions Answered In A Free Initial Phone Consultation

Based in Ann Arbor, EllisonLegal helps clients in Ann Arbor, Detroit and surrounding areas. If you want to learn whether or not you have a disability discrimination case, call my office for a free initial phone consultation. You can reach me at 734-887-6534, or send me an email.