Medical Conditions & Disabilities Discrimination At Workplace How It Can Change Your Life
It might sound a little inhuman and insensitive but people do get discriminated against on the basis of their health conditions and disabilities. Several employment law firms in the city report of similar cases almost on a regular basis. The expert attorneys at Shegerian Conniff would advise you to understand how the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act affect your employment and its terms and conditions.
If you feel that you have been at the receiving end for such kind of discrimination at your workplace, you should be aware of your rights.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, any private employer who has 15 or more employees is prohibited from discriminating against any employees working for them whether they are temporary trainees or an applicant for any particular job. The law also says that under the Family and Medical Leave Act any employers who have 50 or more workers working for them are completely prohibited from discriminating against any employees / associates if they exercise their right to leave under this act.
What Is Medical Condition Discrimination And Harassment At Workplace?
The Fair Employment and Housing Act came into existence in 1959. It is a state law that completely prohibits medical condition discrimination. This means that there will be no discrimination on the basis of any medical condition of any employee. This discrimination may comprise but not be limited to:
Adverse employment actions
Refusal to hire an individual
Termination of an employee's contract
Failure to promote an employee
Reduction in the salary / compensation of the employee based on their medical condition
Permitting / allowing this or any kind of discrimination / harassment to continue against the employee in question
For example, in the state of California, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act any employer who has at least 5 employees will never be allowed to discriminate against any employee based on their medical condition and among other several related or unrelated / protected characteristics.
What Is Defined As A Medical Condition Under The FEHA?
FEHA defines a medical condition as any impairment of an individual resulting out of cancer or any genetic characteristics that put the individual at an increased risk of developing a disorder or disease. These medical conditions may include other physical or mental disabilities but may not be limited to them. Examples include:
Anxiety among many others
Reasonable Accommodations According To The Americans With Disabilities Act
What Your Employment Lawyer And Attorneys Want You To Understand
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act any employer with more than 15 employees should provide reasonable accommodation for any individuals / employees with disabilities. This is required of them unless it is extremely difficult to perform or would lead to undue hardships for the organization. Following are the 3 categories of reasonable accommodations:
Changes and alterations made to the job application process
Changes and alterations made to the work environment or the way a job is being performed / completed
Changes and alterations made to the organization / company so that it enables the employee with any medical condition / disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as the rest of the employees in the organization do
What Amounts To Undue Hardship For An Organization?
According to the lawyers and attorneys at Shegerian Conniff, undue hardships would be all the challenges within an organization that would eventually lead to hampering the operations of the company. They might lead to significant difficulties such as increase in expenses, disruption in regular functions of the business, social disharmony among various team members across business divisions and the like.
For more information and insights regarding medical conditions and disabilities related discrimination at the workplace, get in touch with your employment law firm today.