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Toledo Disability Lawyer

What is Disability Discrimination?

Disability discrimination is when an employer covered by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) fails to treat a qualified individual with a disability equally due to their disability or when a place of public accommodation fails to be reasonably accessible to people with disabilities.

 

Examples of disability discrimination include:

 

  • Rejecting a qualified candidate because of their disability
  • Denying an employee with a disability equal opportunities for job advancement or training due to the disability
  • Improperly compensating disabled employees
  • Disclosing confidential medical information
  • Refusing to discuss or make reasonable accommodations
  • Creating or contributing to a hostile work environment for disabled employees

 

Am I Qualified Under the ADA?

The ADA defines disability in 3 different ways:

 

  1. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity;
  2. Having a record of an impairment; or
  3. Being perceived as having an impairment

 

Physical Impairments

Physical impairments, per the ADA, must affect one or more body systems (for example, sensory organs, neurological, respiratory, reproductive, cardiovascular, digestive, immune, musculoskeletal, etc.).

 

Examples of physical impairments may include (but are not limited to):

 

  • Disfigurement
  • Physiological condition or disorder
  • Missing parts of the body or certain sense that affect one or more body system (i.e., blindness, deafness, missing limbs, etc.)

 

Mental Impairments

Mental impairments, per the ADA, may affect a person’s cognition, mental state, and various other abilities.

 

Examples of mental impairments include (but are certainly not limited to):

 

  • Learning disabilities
  • Cognitive and psychological disorders

 

Limitations

Physical and mental impairments may place limitations on one’s major life activities, for example:

 

  • Caring for oneself
  • Performing manual tasks
  • Seeing
  • Hearing
  • Eating
  • Sleeping
  • Walking
  • Standing
  • Sitting
  • Reaching
  • Lifting
  • Bending
  • Speaking
  • Breathing
  • Learning
  • Reading
  • Concentrating
  • Thinking
  • Communicating
  • Interacting with others
  • Working

 

Accommodations

Public Accommodation

Places of public accommodation are required to serve patrons equally and must be able to make reasonable changes to services and amenities for disabled patrons. Places of public accommodations include shopping centers and malls, hotels, stores, restaurants, private businesses, and so on.

 

If a place of public accommodation refuses to make a reasonable change for disabled patrons, it may face serious consequences. Such a claim is called a Title III ADA claim, and these claims must prove 3 elements in order to succeed in a case:

 

  1. The plaintiff is disabled per the ADA definition;
  2. The defendant owns, leases, or operates a place of public accommodation; and
  3. The plaintiff was denied public accommodation because of their disability.

 

Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation refers to a means for employees with disabilities to request a form of assistance so they can perform their job to the fullest efforts. (Note that the employee must still be able to perform their job’s basic duties and functions.) These requests can be discussed with a supervisor or HR department. When the request is reported in writing or verbally, the employer has a duty to engage in an interactive process to determine what they can do to accommodate an employee’s needs.

 

Examples of reasonable accommodation include (but are not limited to):

 

  • Additional medical leave (even beyond the amount permitted by FMLA)
  • Job restructuring
  • Lightened duties
  • Position reassignment
  • Modified work schedules
  • Flexible leave policies
  • Purchase or modification of equipment and devices
  • Modification of policies
  • Provision of readers, communication access providers, or personal assistants
  • Specialized training

 

Refusing to engage in the process may be grounds for a disability discrimination lawsuit.

 

Contact a Toledo Disability Lawyer

If you believe you have experienced discrimination due to your disability, contact a Toledo disability lawyer right away. There is a limited window of time for filing a charge for disability discrimination in the workplace, so the sooner we can get started on your case, the better. Call the Bryant Legal, LLC Toledo office at 419-824-6719, email attorney Matthew Bryant at mbryant@bryantlegalllc.com, or fill out our contact form.