We help workers with disabilities
protect their legal rights
Workers with disabilities have been unfairly discriminated against for many years. In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to protect workers from discrimination because of their disability by employers with 15 or more employees. Texas law also protects employees who have a disability.
If you believe that your employer, or a prospective employer, has discriminated against you because of a disability, or if you feel that, because of a disability, you need a reasonable accommodation from your employer in order to do your job well, please contact us to possibly schedule a consultation so that we can help you understand your legal rights and options available to you. You can also click here to get a Questionnaire to complete and return to us for one of our attorneys to review.
Definition
A person is considered to have a “disability” under the ADA if the person has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities are those that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty such as walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning and working.
Process
A person who wants to bring a claim based on disability must first file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division or a local fair employment practices agency. Generally, such a charge must be filed within 180 days of the date the discrimination occurred. This is a necessary step which must be taken before an employee can file a lawsuit against his or her employer for any type disability discrimination.
Protections
Employer's Duty to Provide a Reasonable Accommodation
The ADA protects employees in two basic ways. First, an employee who has a disability and who needs some type of change in the terms or conditions of his employment can request a “reasonable accommodation” from his employer so that he can perform his job better. The employer then must give the employee a reasonable accommodation, unless providing such an accommodation would cause an undue hardship on the employer’s business operations. Examples of reasonable accommodations include making the workplace wheelchair accessible, modifying an employee’s work schedule or job duties, reassigning an employee to a new position, acquiring or modifying the equipment the employee uses, providing readers or interpreters and changing company policies. An employer who refuses to make a reasonable accommodation violates the ADA unless the employer proves that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business operations. Texas law also requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation. Employers who violate the ADA or Texas law can be sued by the employee who was refused a reasonable accommodation.
Discrimination Based on Disability
The second basic protection for employees is that the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Texas law has similar protections against disability discrimination. The ADA protects persons with disabilities from discrimination, whether they are employees or applicants for employment. An employer may not ask job applicants about the existence, nature or severity of the applicant’s disability. However, an applicant may be asked if he or she is able to perform the essential functions of the job. Once hired, the employer may not change the terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the employee’s disability. So long as a person with a disabilitys can perform the essential duties of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation, the employer cannot take any tangible adverse employment action against the employee, such as firing, demoting, reducing pay or refusing to promote the employee, if a reason for the action is the employee’s disability.
If you would like to contact us regarding a disability discrimination claim, please click here, fill out our questionnaire, and return it to our office, or contact us by phone or email. |
