What Is Disability Discrimination In The Workplace?

Being disabled makes life hard enough, but worse is when you have to deal with disability discrimination in the workplace. Denying specific accommodations to someone or treating them a certain way because of their disability is against the law.

What Defines Disability Discrimination?

Disability discrimination is defined as treating someone in a specific manner due to their disability. Examples of this are:

• Creating a workplace that has numerous barriers inhibiting the operation of those who are disabled
• Making fun of an employee or insulting them based on their disability
• Refusing to offer reasonable accommodations that would allow disabled employees to adequately function
• Passing up an employee for promotions, assignments, and benefits due to their disability or terminating their employment because of it

If you feel that any of the above behaviors have been directed at you because of your physical or mental limitations, you might have experienced discrimination. Those that are disabled yet qualified to perform a job should know that they have the protection of both state and California law which gives them protection against harassment or retaliation due to their disability, and your experience might also be grounds for litigation.

Indirect versus Direct Discrimination

While disability discrimination might occur in multiple forms, it can generally be broken down into two categories, which are indirect and direct discrimination.

• Indirect discrimination: A company or organization introduces or maintains a specific policy that adversely affects members who are disabled, such as producing an organizational flyer that talks about healthcare benefits that can’t be read by those who are blind and to save money the company didn’t bother to produce an audio version, making it much harder for those who can’t see to read and use the information to their advantage.
• Direct discrimination: A manager employed by a company prevents an employee with a disability from engaging in social activities that other employees are allowed to engage in, or the employee with the disability is fired outright without due cause.

By law, employers must make adjustments that are reasonable for employees who are disabled. Those that have limited mobility should have access to parking lots that are closer to the entrance, and corporate headquarters should have walkways and corridors which can accommodate those confined to wheelchairs, or who must use crutches. Employers that refuse to accommodate these needs may be held liable.

What Federal Laws Protect Persons with Disabilities?

One of the most recent laws passed which are designed to protect disabled people is the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act. The act prohibits both private employers as well as labor unions or local and state governments from discriminating against individuals who are qualified because of their disabilities during employment application procedures.

There are also older acts such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination based on disability from Federal programs or against those who are getting federal assistance. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 is also important because it prohibits discrimination against those who are using air transportation.