How To Identify Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

You may have a disability, but you haven’t let that disability stop you from finding meaningful work. You love your job, but your boss, not so much. You suspect that they might be treating you unfairly because you’re disabled. If so, what can you do?

Wondering how to identify disability discrimination in the workplace? You’ll need to put on your detective hat. Spotting workplace disability discrimination isn’t always easy, as the vast majority of employers don’t announce their intentions.

Below, find tips on recognizing disability discrimination indicators and identifying workplace disability bias.

Recognizing Workplace Disability Discrimination

Think your employer might be discriminating against you because of your disability? Here’s how to tell.

Your Employer or Co-Workers Are Harassing You

Harassment is a pretty obvious sign that your employer or co-workers are discriminating against you. Harassment can include:

• Making rude remarks about your disability
• Calling you slurs
• Pulling unsavory pranks (such as hiding your wheelchair or walker)

It’s important to note that simply being mean or rude, by itself, isn’t grounds for a disability discrimination suit. For the law to protect you, harassment must have something to do with your disability.

An Employer Refuses To Hire You Because of Your Disability

Some employers will refuse to hire you simply because you’re disabled. If you roll into an interview in your wheelchair and the interviewer treats you poorly for no reason, they might be discriminating against you.

Proving discrimination in the hiring process is rather tough. The vast majority of employers won’t say that they hired someone else because you’re disabled. Instead, they’ll say things like, “The other candidate was a better fit.”

You’ll need evidence to prove hiring discrimination. For instance, if you’re partially blind and the employer refused to provide you a screen reader to take a test on the computer, that may be enough to prove discrimination.

Your Employer Refuses To Provide Reasonable Accommodations

The law says that employers must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled people. This could include wheelchair ramps, special chairs, screen readers, or other assistive devices.

Providing reasonable accommodations is often costly and inconvenient for employers, so naturally, they’d rather not do it. If your employer won’t accommodate you, you can hold them liable for discrimination. However, the employer must have been aware of your disability for you to do so.

Your Employer Shows Preferential Treatment to Non-Disabled Employees

Let’s say that you work on a team of five people with the exact same duties that you have. Your employer allows those employees to take an hour-long lunch break, but only gives you 30 minutes to eat. Or perhaps they exclude you from trips and meetings. Both are signs of disability discrimination.

Need help figuring out how to identify disability discrimination in the workplace? Give us a call.

Your Employer Unfairly Punishes You

You’re a superstar at work, and it shows in your glowing performance reviews. Your team loves you, too. Ask any of them what they think about you, and they’d have nothing but good things to say.

Then, out of nowhere, your employer blindsides you with a terrible review. You don’t understand why. Your work is flawless, like always, and you’ve done nothing wrong. What gives?

That employer may be inventing reasons to punish or fire you because of your disability. They can’t fire you because you’re disabled, so they try to make up excuses to let you go.

Or perhaps they use a fake bad performance review to justify putting you on an improvement plan. They then subject you to extreme micromanagement and nitpick every little mistake in hopes that you’ll quit the job.

Your Employer Denies You a Promotion or Raise

You’ve been gunning for a promotion and have a stellar track record. Cue shock and disappointment, then, when your boss gives the promotion to someone else.

That boss may be discriminating against you for your disability. They might say something like, “This new role would be too difficult for you given your condition.” If you know you can do the job regardless of your disability, this is pure nonsense.

Can You Sue Your Employer for Disability Discrimination?

Both the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) allow you to sue for disability discrimination. If you file a disability discrimination claim and win, remedies may include:

• Reinstatement (if fired unfairly)
• Promotion (if denied promotion due to disability)
• Lost wages and benefits
• Reasonable workplace accommodations
• Attorney’s fees

If your employer acted especially egregiously in their discrimination, they may also have to pay you punitive damages.

Need Help Identifying Signs of Disability Discrimination? Call Kent Pincin

Now that you know how to identify disability discrimination in the workplace, reach out to a disability discrimination lawyer at Kent Pincin by calling (310) 376-0922 for further guidance. We can help you determine if you have a case against your employer for discrimination and provide more tips on how to detect disability discrimination at work.