The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) protects employees from discrimination on the basis of disability. But the ADA is notoriously complicated. Understanding how to prove disability discrimination is much harder than it sounds. To prove disability discrimination is much harder than it sounds. To determine if you have a discrimination claim, you should speak with a Cleveland ADA lawyer at Bolek Besser Glesius.
Key Takeaways: Proving Disability Discrimination Under the ADA
- You must meet the ADA definition of a disability.
An employee must show they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, though what qualifies is often more complex than it appears. - The ADA protects more than those with actual disabilities.
It covers employees who are “regarded as” having a disability, those with a “record of” a disability, and employees associated with someone who has a disability. - Disability discrimination can take many forms.
Examples include firing, refusing to hire, denying promotions, or making improper requests for medical information because of an actual or perceived disability. - Employees may be entitled to reasonable accommodations.
Employers generally must make adjustments to job duties, schedules, equipment, or policies when those changes would allow the employee to perform essential job functions. - Common accommodations vary widely.
Examples include accessible facilities, modified work schedules, job restructuring, equipment changes, reassignment to a vacant role, and in some cases, medical leave. - Understanding ADA protections can be challenging.
Because the law is complex and situations vary, speaking with an ADA lawyer can help employees understand their rights and how to prove disability discrimination.
How to Prove Disability Discrimination
At the start, how to prove disability discrimination first requires the employee to prove they meet the technical legal definition of a “disability.” In most cases, that entails the employee showing he or she has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” Each of those terms is defined by the ADA and by case law. And sometimes what seems like an obvious disability won’t meet the legal definition.
It is important to note that the ADA definition of disability isn’t limited to people who have an actual disability. It also protects employees who don’t have a disability but whose employers believe they do. This is known as a “regarded as” disability discrimination claim. The ADA also protects employees who no longer have an actual disability but did in the past—known as having a “record of” a disability. A good example would be an employee who previously had cancer and is in remission. Lastly, the ADA prohibits discrimination against employees who don’t have a disability but who are “associated” with someone who does, for instance a spouse or child.
What Does Disability Discrimination Look Like?
Next the employee must prove that the employer discriminated against them because of their protected status. Knowing how to prove disability discrimination means understanding that ADA violations can take different forms. Firing an employee because of a disability is the most blatant example. Refusing to hire an employee because of an actual or perceived disability is another. Employers might also violate the ADA by refusing to promote employees because of a disability or by making impermissible requests for the employee’s medical information. There is one other critical ADA protection employees need to know about.
Under the ADA and Ohio law, employers must generally make “reasonable accommodations” of an employee’s known disability if doing so would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the job. A reasonable accommodation is some change to the employee’s job duties, or to other workplace policies or procedures, that would allow the employee to perform the main job functions.
Common examples of reasonable accommodations include making existing facilities accessible, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquiring or modifying equipment, reassignment to a vacant position, and possibly medical leave. This is not an exhaustive list. Ordinarily, employers must make reasonable accommodations when the employee asks for them unless doing so would be an “undue hardship” on the employer.
ADA Lawyer for Ohio Employees
As we said, the disability discrimination laws are complicated. But when you’ve been discriminated against because of a disability, and you’re trying to understand how to prove disability discrimination, your rights are too important to leave to chance. Talk to an ADA lawyer at Bolek Besser Glesius and protect yourself.
