How Does an employee Know if They are Being Discriminated Against in the Workplace Based on Their Di
How Does an employee Know if They are Being Discriminated Against in the Workplace Based on Their Disability?
Employees
with particular disabilities are considered to be part of a protected
class by the law. The State of California provides security and rights
for American's with disabilities who wish to enter the workforce. These
rights are meant to encourage employees with disabilities to participate
in society and offer the same opportunities as those who do not have a
recognized disability. The law recognizes certain mental disabilities,
psychological disorders, intellectual disabilities, organic brain
syndrome, and/or emotional or mental illness. Also, certain physical
disabilities are recognized as well, such as a physiological disease,
disorder, condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or any loss of control of
the body.
How do you know its disability discrimination?
The
Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibit behavior in the workplace that
singles out employees based on their disability by way of hiring
practices, promotion selection, and the way in which employee benefits
are distributed. Discrimination comes in all shapes and sizes but they
all cause damage to an individual with a disability, emotionally as well
as to their career. In its most obvious form, discrimination can be
inflicted upon an employee through verbal and written comments. These
comments often speculate on the employee's capability to carry out their
duties as an employee. For example, an employee who was injured in a
car accident lost one of his arms. This employee is often verbally
abused and humiliated in front of his co-workers by his manager. Often
his manager would make comments and make jokes towards him such as "Gosh
you're slow, this is really a two-arm job" and "Hey, too bad you can't
shop at the secondhand store". In an email, his manager told him he was
slow and his disability was a burden on the department. This employee
was the only person at the company who was picked on and treated in this
manner by the manager. Here, this example shows discrimination in the
verbal form as well as the written form. In both forms, the manager
singled out the employee from the rest of his coworkers specifically
because of his disability which may give rise to a disability
discrimination claim.
Again,
discrimination can also come in the form of demotion, passing up an
employee for promotion, singling the employee out, name calling refusal
to provide reasonable accommodation, depriving the individual of
employee benefits, cutting hours, reducing pay, or even wrongfully
terminating the employee. Although this list covers the most common
forms of discrimination, it is not an exhaustive list. A Disability
Attorney is a lawyer who specializes specifically in employment law
matters and is able to identify certain actions and behaviors as
discriminatory that may extend beyond the actions mentioned.
It doesn't just come from upper management
Generally
it might be presumed that it is the employer or someone in upper
management who would exercise discriminatory behavior towards an
employee with a disability, however, that is not always the case. Many
employees with disabilities endure adverse treatment based on their
disability by fellow co-workers. For example, an employee may have
certain adjustments made to their schedule or use a special chair at
their desk to accommodate their disability needs. Other employees may
make comments such as "oh here comes John, he always gets special
treatment just because he has a bum leg" or "Disabled people get it so
easy, they are just lazy and want a free ride in life". These types of
comments are of course hurtful but they also are downright
discriminatory. Commenting on an employee's disability, especially in a
derogatory manner can be characterized as harassment and unlawful.
You're afraid you'll lose your job if you complain
If
an employee is harassed at work based on their disability, he or she
should report the incident(s) immediately and the employee is entitled
to do so without repercussions for complaining. This means that if an
employee is being treated adversely because of their disability, whether
it is by another coworker or a supervisor, it is against the law for an
employer to fire the employee specifically for making that complaint.
This is called retaliation. An employee who is being retaliated against
after making a complaint regarding unlawful conduct, the employee may
endure a demotion, bogus reprimands, or even being suspended from work.
These are forms of punishment that an employer may inflict upon an
employee for complaining and may give rise to a retaliation claim.
Even
if an employer has fulfilled their obligation in making reasonable
adjustments to accommodate the employee's disability, the employer is
also responsible for taking steps to protect the employee from
harassment. Once an employee makes a complaint about being harassed by
other employees based on their disability, the employer needs to take
steps to address the issue such as conducting an investigation,
separating the individuals, enforcing or enacting work policies that aid
in maintaining a harassment-free environment, and other preventative
measures that actually hinder the problem from reoccurring,
Every case is different
So,
how does an employee know if they are being discriminated against in
the workplace based on their disability? Every case is different and
there is no hard and fast rule that can determine automatically if an
employee was discriminated against or not. That is why each case is
decided based on collecting all the surrounding circumstances before
coming to a conclusion.
Disability discrimination
in the workplace is considered as unlawful behavior and prohibited by
the employment laws in California. Although employees with a disability
have rights in the workplace, those rights can still be violated. It is
up to the employee to make complaints, keep a personal record of all
incidences, and to seek legal counsel if their employer or Human
Resources Department is not addressing the issue. If an employee is
treated negatively based on their disability, this can be disruptive to
the particular employee and may cause the employee to experience stress.
An employee with a disability may have the right to refuse to
withstand such conditions at work. Contact a Disability Discrimination Attorney today to discuss your rights as an employee with a disability.
