Disability Discrimination Attorney Los Angeles

If you suspect disability discrimination in the workplace, you may be able to secure relief under state or federal law. Reach out to Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob, & Morrison to learn more about whether you have a case against your former or current employer.

Experienced Los Angeles Lawyers Advocating For Disability Rights

Disabilities can be a challenging part of life—but they shouldn’t prevent anyone from doing a job for which they’re perfectly qualified and capable of doing. It’s unfortunately all too common to find that an employer has discriminated against one or more employees on the basis of disability. When this happens, Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob, & Morrison is here to help.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered entities, including private employers, to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability. This includes both applicants and employees unless such covered entity demonstrates the accommodation imposes an undue hardship.

Navigating a disability discrimination claim and subsequent lawsuit can be a complex and emotionally taxing experience. The talented disability discrimination attorneys at KSJM have a 30-year reputation for holding employers accountable and will offer you the guidance, support, and resources you need to earn the compensation you deserve.

Understanding Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

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Proving Disability Discrimination: A Step-by-Step Guide

In order to prove a case of disability discrimination on an unlawful termination claim, an employee must show that:

His or her employer is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act
He or she suffers from a disability within the meaning of the ADA
He or she could perform the essential function of his or her job with or without reasonable accommodation
His or her employer discharged him/her because of the disability

Eligibility Criteria: Who Qualifies as an Individual with a Disability?

For the employee to be eligible to make a claim of disability discrimination under the ADA or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), he or she must be a “qualified individual with a disability.” This means, in other words, that the individual in question must be able to do the job for which they were hired.

A person with no hands, for instance, would perhaps not be qualified to be a typist. (For more information, see the below discussion on “reasonable accommodation.”) If an employer did not hire this individual to be a typist, it would not be considered discrimination. In this case, the individual would simply not be considered qualified for the job in question.

Disability vs. Injury

Describing a worker as being “with a disability” means that the worker is actually disabled. For an injury, disease, or ailment to be a “disability” under the law, it must “substantially limit one or more major life activities.” A mere annoyance is not enough; the individual’s disability must actually interfere with their daily life in a demonstrable way.

When determining whether a person actually has a disability or not, the courts pay close attention to whether the ailment has materially affected the person’s ability to perform their job and reasonably earn a living. This means that even if the disability does not affect most areas of one’s life, the courts are more likely to consider it a disability if it affects the person’s employment.

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Legal Protection Against Perceived Disability Discrimination

An employer cannot discriminate against a person they perceive to have a disability. Doing so is illegal. If the employee is not disabled, but the employer believes they are and discriminates against them, that is also illegal. In this circumstance, it is not necessary to determine if the employee is a “qualified individual” with a disability. The court may consider, however, whether or not the worker would have been a qualified individual if they actually had the disability that the employer perceived them to have. The law is not entirely clear on this issue.

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Reasonable Accommodation for an Employee with a Disability

“Reasonable accommodation” refers to a principle that states that if a person is disabled, the employer must consider whether or not a “reasonable accommodation” can be made. A “reasonable accommodation” is considered to have been made when the employer modifies the job duties, provides some extra help, or takes some other measure to ensure that the person can still perform the duties associated with the job.

An example of a reasonable accommodation might involve a person who uses a wheelchair and is applying for a job in an office located on the second floor of a building. If there are no elevators in the building, the employer could install an elevator…but this invites the question of whether or not it is reasonable to expect an employer to spend that kind of money, especially if it is just one small business.

There are, of course, numerous other possible scenarios in which a reasonable accommodation can be made. Perhaps the potential employee’s job, for example, really just involves talking on the telephone and selling products. This job, then, can reasonably be done from home without any need for the employee to even be in the office. Is it then reasonable to ask the employer to let the person work at home? It may be.

Call Now for Your Free Consultation With Our Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Lawyers

As an employee, you have the right to ask for reasonable accommodations. Once you do, your employer has the right to consider these requests and make counter-offers that they might see as more reasonable. If you and your employer cannot agree, then you might want to consider bringing a disability discrimination case against your employer. In order to win this case, however, the judge or jury will have to find that your request for accommodation was reasonable or that your employer’s counter-offers were insufficient.

If you suspect that you’ve been subject to workplace discrimination based on a disability or perceived disability, contact the talented team of discrimination lawyers at Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob, & Morrison to set up a totally free, no-risk initial consultation. Our Los Angeles disability discrimination lawyers have been helping victims of disability discrimination for more than 30 years and will be proud to offer you the support you deserve. Reach out now and set up your initial appointment to learn more about what we can do for you.