Disability Discrimination
Both Federal and State law protect against discrimination based on a disability. A disability is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits any major life activities. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, working, or the ability to perform manual tasks.
What is protected under disability discrimination?
When most people think about a disability they may picture someone in a wheelchair or with some other type of visible physical impairment. However, laws providing protections against disability discrimination cover much more than disabilities that can be seen.
For example:
- Conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, or diabetes usually fall under protected disabilities so long as they interfere with a major life activity.
- Mental Health conditions can also be covered under disability discrimination, severe depression, anxiety, and other mental health illness could be grounds for seeking accommodations from your employer
Usually, employers provide accommodations for employees with disabilities. However, if the employer will not provide accommodations or you are missing out on employment opportunities because of your disability, you may have a claim for disability discrimination.
All information on our website is meant to be generally informative. To find out whether you may have a case, you should consult an employment or discrimination attorney of your choice.