Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), along with other similar legislation at the state and federal level, disabled workers are afforded certain legal protections. These are meant to help you if you face problems at work due to having a physical or psychological disability. Here are some of the most essential rights you should know as a disabled worker:
- You have the right to work without fear of discrimination
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- One of the most basic protections that all disabled workers have is that they cannot be discriminated against by their employer. This means they are entitled to equal pay and benefits as their non-disabled peers, and are protected against harassment or other forms of hostility related to their disability. It also means they cannot be fired simply for having a disability.
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- You are entitled to reasonable accommodations
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- Employers are legally obligated to provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees with disabilities. This refers to any assistance that an employer can provide without undue cost to themselves, such as assistive hardware or software, adjustments to job responsibilities or schedules, and so on. As a disabled worker, you cannot be punished for requesting a reasonable accommodation, nor for being unable to do your job without one.
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- Your medical information is confidential
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- Employers are, broadly speaking, not legally entitled to know their employees’ medical history, and that includes disabled workers. If that information is shared for whatever reason, they are required to keep that information confidential. They also cannot make business decisions based on any medical information they come to know which is not directly related to your ability to carry out your job.
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- You are allowed to take time off work to treat your condition
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- Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you have a legal right to take time off work to treat your disability without fear of losing your job for doing so. This is true even if you do not have accrued PTO or another arrangement for sick or family leave. As a disabled worker, your employment should never be in danger just for seeking necessary medical care.
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- You can seek justice if you are retaliated against
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- Finally, as a disabled worker, you are protected from retaliation if your employer chooses to punish you for reporting employment law violations. These include any violations that happened to you, or which happened to someone else that you reported. If this has happened to you, the best thing you can do is contact an experienced employment law attorney to represent you.
Steven Mitchell Sack, the Employee’s Lawyer, is a New York employment lawyer with more than 46 years’ experience handling the many aspects of employment law. His new book, “Fired!: Protect Your Rights & FIGHT BACK If You’re Terminated, Laid Off, Downsized, Restructured, Forced to Resign or Quit,” is available in hardback, and contains valuable advice on dealing with employment and labor law issues. To purchase the book, feel free to contact Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or visit the website at legalstratpub.com. To inquire about a legal matter, please feel free to contact attorney Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or stevensackatty@hotmail.com.
