Our Ohio Disability Discrimination Lawyers protect employees from discrimination at work.
As Ohio disability discrimination lawyers, We think it’s important that employees know their rights when it comes to disability discrimination. Both Ohio and federal law protect individuals with physical or mental impairments from disability discrimination in their employment.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employee with a disability must be able to perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation in order to be a qualified individual. Once an employer has received notice that an employee has a disability, the employer is required to engage in the interactive process whereby the employer is to work with the employee to determine what, if any, accommodations could be made in order to allow the employee to return to work. An employer cannot require that an employee to be fully cleared without any restrictions or “100% healed” before considering whether to return the employee to work. If there are reasonable accommodations available and an employer terminates or otherwise takes an adverse employment action against an employee despite the ability to provide reasonable accommodations, then the employee may have a legal claim against their employer.
In addition to having a physical or mental impairment which qualifies as a disability, an employee might be perceived or regarded as having a disability by their employer. For instance, an employee might be cleared to return to work without limitations, but their employer may have its own concerns about whether the employee can work safely. Employers cannot rely upon their unfounded fears or jump to conclusions without objective medical evidence and an individualized assessment of the employee. Doing so would more than likely violate the ADA and Ohio laws against discrimination.
In many cases, disability discrimination by employers occurs because employers look at employees with physical and mental impairments as liabilities or burdens. However, employers are required to accommodate their employees if there are reasonable accommodations that, if made, would allow the employee to continue to work.
If you believe you have been harassed or discriminated against because of a disability or a perceived disability, you should contact our Ohio disability discrimination lawyers to discuss if you are being treated unlawfully. Feel free to contact Coffman Legal, LLC if you would like to discuss disability discrimination or other legal issues you experience during your employment. Contact our Ohio discrimination lawyers today for a free consultation by calling 1-614-949-1181.
