According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, ("ADA") "physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society, yet many people with physical or mental disabilities have been precluded from doing so because of discrimination." What should you do if you believe that you were discriminated against at work, or even fired, because you have a disability?
Under the ADA, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a "qualified individual with a disability." The term “qualified individual “ means an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. So the first question in determining whether you have a discrimination claim is whether you are, in fact, "disabled" within the meaning of the law. The second question is whether or not you can perform the essential functions of the job. If you need a reasonable accommodation to do so, you still are considered to be a "qualified individual." The accommodation, though, must be "reasonable," which means that the requested accommodation does not pose an undue hardship to the employer.
But what if you are able to perform the job without an accommodation, but your employer still fires you? To have successful disability discrimination claim, you must be able to prove that you have a disability; your job performance was satisfactory; you suffered an adverse employment action; and the action occurred under conditions giving rise to an inference of discrimination. The employer then has the opportunity to show that it had a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action. Finally, you have the opportunity to show that the employer's reason is just a pretext for discrimination.
If you believe you have been discriminated against because you have a disability, contact the Law Offices of Anthony J. Pantuso, III at 203-726-0284.
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