Disability Discrimination Lawyer
Proudly Serving California Workers Wrongfully Terminated
What Is Disability Discrimination?
Disability discrimination occurs when an employer treats a disabled employee differently in the workplace or terminates a disabled employee because of the employee’s disability. In the typical scenario, disability discrimination occurs after an employee discloses a disability to their employer and requests that the employer provide accommodation for their disability.
What Is A “Disability” Under California Law?
California law protects employees who have a physical or mental “disability.” A “physical disability” is any disease, disorder, condition, disfigurement or anatomical loss that affects a body system and limits a major life activity. A “mental disability” is any mental or psychological disorder that limits a major life activity.
Examples of physical disabilities include, but are not limited to, back, neck, shoulder, leg, foot, arm and hand injuries; deafness; blindness; missing limbs; mobility impairment; cerebral palsy; HIV/AIDS; hepatitis; epilepsy; seizure disorder; diabetes; multiple sclerosis; and heart disease.
Examples of mental disabilities include, but are not limited to, clinical depression; anxiety; bipolar disorder; emotional or mental illness; intellectual or cognitive disability; learning disabilities; autism; schizophrenia; post-traumatic stress disorder; and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
California law also prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee who the employer perceives to be disabled, even if the employee does not actually have a physical or mental disability.
Does Your Employer Have A Duty To Accommodate Your Disability?
Yes. California law requires employers to provide its disabled employees with “reasonable accommodation” so that employees can continue to perform the essential functions of their jobs despite their disabilities. Types of reasonable accommodations an employer could be required to provide is a leave of absence from work so the employee can treat and recover, job restructuring, reassignment to a vacant position, part-time or modified work schedules, and acquisition or modification of equipment or devices. Although your employer has a duty to accommodate your disability, your employer does not have to provide accommodation if doing so would create a “undue hardship” to the company.
How can I prove my boss harassed or discriminated against me because of my disability?
If you have witnesses and documents, it’s much easier to prove your case. However, if you don’t have these things, don’t feel discouraged.
To prove your case, you only need the judge or jury to believe that you or someone you were associated had a mental disability and that a substantial motivation for your firing, demotion, or harassment was due to your mental disability.
Our disability discrimination attorneys at Tous Law have handled cases where someone has been discriminated and harassed because of their mental disability, but no one was around to see it and it wasn’t in writing. If you believe that your employer wrongfully terminated you and violated your rights under the ADA, you may have the grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer.
All of the laws enforced by EEOC, except for the Equal Pay Act, require you to file a charge of discrimination before you can file a job discrimination lawsuit against your employer. The EEOC is a federal agency that enforces the ADA.
What Are You Entitled To Recover In A Disability Discrimination Case?
• All lost wages, income, earnings or salary you lost, and will lose in the future, as the result of the discriminatory conduct or your employer’s failure to accommodate your disability
• Monetary compensation for your past and future mental suffering, inconvenience, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress
• Punitive damages to deter your employer from engaging in similar conduct in the future
We can help you fight for justice
Employers who fire a worker because the worker has a mental disability have broken the law. Their actions not only cost the worker a job but also may have caused the employee to suffer distress and mental anguish. If you have been fired from your job, and think it was related to your mental disability, contact Tous Law 714-766-0264 or email us to schedule a free, confidential consultation.
Disability discrimination occurs when an employer treats a disabled employee differently in the workplace or terminates a disabled employee because of the employee’s disability. In the typical scenario, disability discrimination occurs after an employee discloses a disability to their employer and requests that the employer provide accommodation for their disability.
What Is A “Disability” Under California Law?
California law protects employees who have a physical or mental “disability.” A “physical disability” is any disease, disorder, condition, disfigurement or anatomical loss that affects a body system and limits a major life activity. A “mental disability” is any mental or psychological disorder that limits a major life activity.
Examples of physical disabilities include, but are not limited to, back, neck, shoulder, leg, foot, arm and hand injuries; deafness; blindness; missing limbs; mobility impairment; cerebral palsy; HIV/AIDS; hepatitis; epilepsy; seizure disorder; diabetes; multiple sclerosis; and heart disease.
Examples of mental disabilities include, but are not limited to, clinical depression; anxiety; bipolar disorder; emotional or mental illness; intellectual or cognitive disability; learning disabilities; autism; schizophrenia; post-traumatic stress disorder; and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
California law also prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee who the employer perceives to be disabled, even if the employee does not actually have a physical or mental disability.
Does Your Employer Have A Duty To Accommodate Your Disability?
Yes. California law requires employers to provide its disabled employees with “reasonable accommodation” so that employees can continue to perform the essential functions of their jobs despite their disabilities. Types of reasonable accommodations an employer could be required to provide is a leave of absence from work so the employee can treat and recover, job restructuring, reassignment to a vacant position, part-time or modified work schedules, and acquisition or modification of equipment or devices. Although your employer has a duty to accommodate your disability, your employer does not have to provide accommodation if doing so would create a “undue hardship” to the company.
How can I prove my boss harassed or discriminated against me because of my disability?
If you have witnesses and documents, it’s much easier to prove your case. However, if you don’t have these things, don’t feel discouraged.
To prove your case, you only need the judge or jury to believe that you or someone you were associated had a mental disability and that a substantial motivation for your firing, demotion, or harassment was due to your mental disability.
Our disability discrimination attorneys at Tous Law have handled cases where someone has been discriminated and harassed because of their mental disability, but no one was around to see it and it wasn’t in writing. If you believe that your employer wrongfully terminated you and violated your rights under the ADA, you may have the grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer.
All of the laws enforced by EEOC, except for the Equal Pay Act, require you to file a charge of discrimination before you can file a job discrimination lawsuit against your employer. The EEOC is a federal agency that enforces the ADA.
What Are You Entitled To Recover In A Disability Discrimination Case?
• All lost wages, income, earnings or salary you lost, and will lose in the future, as the result of the discriminatory conduct or your employer’s failure to accommodate your disability
• Monetary compensation for your past and future mental suffering, inconvenience, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress
• Punitive damages to deter your employer from engaging in similar conduct in the future
We can help you fight for justice
Employers who fire a worker because the worker has a mental disability have broken the law. Their actions not only cost the worker a job but also may have caused the employee to suffer distress and mental anguish. If you have been fired from your job, and think it was related to your mental disability, contact Tous Law 714-766-0264 or email us to schedule a free, confidential consultation.
Contact Us
4952 Warner Ave, #255
Huntington Beach, California 92649
Office: 714-377-1068
Fax: 714-464-4470
Email: gbeilfuss@touslaw.com