Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to assist employees needing work adjustments to perform their job successfully. More importantly, Federal law prohibits employers from harassing employees based on disabilities and from disclosing an employee’s protected medical information.
Ultimately, employers may not refuse accommodations unless they pose an extreme hardship to the organization. Financial expense to the employer is not generally considered an extreme hardship, and there are only few exceptions to the requirement requiring reasonable accommodations.
Common Examples of Reasonable Accommodations Include:
Ergonomic Office Furniture
Speech to Text Software
Special Lighting
Flexible Schedules
Telework
Service Animals
Frequent Breaks
Quiet Work Areas for Certain Mental Conditions Such as PTSD or Anxiety
Questions about Employment Disability to Ask Yourself:
-Have you notified your employer that you need an accommodation, and they took no action?
-Did you eventually receive a reasonable accommodation that did not not match your doctor’s recommendation?
-Did the delay in receiving a reasonable accommodation cause you further emotional or physical harm?
-Has your employer publicly discussed your medical conditions with others through emails or during staff meetings?
-Has your employer left your medical information on a community printer?
-Do you telework as an accommodation, and your supervisor harasses you about your telework or references your telework with other employees?
-Has your employer denied telework as an accommodation, forcing you to expend annual leave as your own reasonable accommodation?
-Have you been forced to resign from your position after your employer refused to grant physician suggested accommodation?
If these or any other situations have happened to you, you may have been the victim of disability discrimination. Contact our office today for a free consultation!