Disability Discrimination: About Reasonable Accommodations and Undue Hardship

According to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the federal Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), disability discrimination is prohibited in private companies, government offices, employment agencies and even in labor unions.

For the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers covered by the ADA are prohibited from discriminating an employee or applicant on the basis of his or her disability. Through the amended Rehabilitation Act, qualified individuals with disability who treated unfavorably may file for a discrimination complaint.

Such laws cover even those who have a history of disability such as cancer, which is controlled, or in remission. Others are still qualified if he or she is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not in the transitory stage.

Also, disability discrimination may happen within the following employment processes:

• Hiring;
• Termination;
• Job assignments;
• Promotions;
• Layoffs;
• Training;
• Fringe benefits; and
• Any other terms and conditions of employment.

The laws even require employers to provide some reasonable accommodations to workers or job applicants who have disabilities if it does not cause significant difficulty for the company. These reasonable accommodations may include various changes in the working environment to assist the person who has a disability. Moreover, the employee or applicant through reasonable accommodations may acquire benefits and privileges.

Examples of this would include providing ramps for wheelchair users, as well as readers or interpreters for the impaired of hearing. Unless doing so would cause undue hardship for the employer, the disabled employee may be entitled to reasonable accommodation.

Basically,”undue hardship” means that the accommodation is too difficult or very expensive to provide with respect to the size of the company, financial resources and the needs of the industry.

Incidentally, employees who feel that they have been discriminated on the basis of their disability may file a complaint with the appropriate agency or with an expert employment attorney. Workers may also seek the help of a Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer to obtain legal assistance with regards the case.