Were You Discriminated Against Because of a Disability?

Our Los Angeles Discrimination Lawyer Can Put a Stop to it Now!

If you believe you have been subjected to disability discrimination at work in Los Angeles, you may be able to secure relief under state or federal law. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered entities, including private employers, to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.

In order to prove case of disability discrimination on a unlawful termination claim, an employee must show that: 1) his or her employer is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act; 2) her or she suffers from a disability within the meaning of the ADA; 3) her or she could perform the essential function of her job with or without reasonable accommodation; and 4) he or she was discharged because of his or her disability.

Qualified Individual with a Disability

For the employee to be eligible to make a claim of disability discrimination under the ADA or FEHA, he must be a "qualified individual with a disability." This means that he or she must be able to do the job. For instance, a person with no hands would not be qualified to be a typist. (However, see below discussion on "reasonable accommodation".) If the employer didn't give him the job, it wouldn't be discrimination. It's just that the person simply isn't qualified.

"With a disability" means that the worker is actually disabled. For an injury, disease, or their ailment to be a "disability" under the law, it must "substantially limit one or more major life activities." A mere annoyance is not enough. The disability must actually interfere with a person's life.

In determining whether or not a person actually has a disability, the Courts pay close attention to whether or not the ailment affects the person's job and ability to earn a living. So, even if the disability doesn't affect most areas of life, if it affects the person's employment, it is more likely to be considered a disability.

Perceived Disability

It is also unlawful to discriminate against a person who is perceived to have a disability. If the employee is not disabled, but the employer believes he is, and discriminated against him, that is also illegal.

In this circumstance, it is not necessary to determine if the employee is a "qualified individual" with a disability. However, the Court may consider whether or not the person would have been a qualified individual if he actually had the disability that the employer perceived him to have. The law is not entirely clear on this issue.

Reasonable Accommodation for an Employee with a Disability

Reasonable Accommodation is the idea that even if a person is disabled and even if that disability may make it seem like he or she can't do a job, the employer must consider whether or not a "reasonable accommodation" can be made. A "reasonable accommodation" is when the employer modifies the job duties, provides some extra help, or takes some other measure to ensure that the person can still be able to do the job.

For instance, let's say a person in a wheelchair wants a job in an office that is on the second floor. There are no elevators in the building. To accommodate he worker, the employer could install an elevator. But is that a "reasonable accommodation"? Is it reasonable to expect the employer to spend that kind of money? Probably not, particularly if it's just one small business.

But there might be other possibilities. Perhaps the potential employee's job is really just talking on the telephone, selling products. Maybe the job can be done from home, and there is no need to even be in the office. Isn't it reasonable to ask the employer to let the person work at home? It may be.

Employees have to ask for reasonable accommodations. Once they do, the employer has the right to consider the requests, and make counter-offers that the employer might see as more reasonable. If the employer and employee can't agree, then the employee might want to consider bringing suit. However, to win, the judge or jury will have to find that the employee's request was reasonable, or that the employer's counter-offers were not sufficient.

If you are a victim of Los Angeles workplace discrimination, contact a Los Angeles discrimination lawyer at our law firm today to set up a consultation. We help victims of Los Angeles discrimination at work, including disability discrimination. Our Los Angeles discrimination attorney gives clients information about what to do if they encounter discrimination at work.