Disability Discrimination is Unlawful in the Workplace

The right to equal access to living and working in the United States is at the center of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The ADA requires covered employers to provide qualified individuals with disabilities equal opportunity in the workplace. If you think your employer failed to accommodate your disability or discriminated against you because of your disability, you should contact an experienced employment attorney today.

Murphy Law Group represents employees who have disabilities and may have been discriminated against in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our Philadelphia disability act claim lawyers work with individuals who have been:

• Discriminated against during the hiring process
• Denied reasonable accommodations in the workplace
• Forced to work part-time hours
• Subjected to a hostile work environment because of their disability
• Had their employment terminated because of their disability

We represent employees of the Greater Philadelphia Area, including residents of Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, residents located in central and western Pennsylvania, as well as residents of New Jersey.

How Employers Violate Your ADA Rights

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits unlawful discrimination in employment and/or the workplace against a qualified individual with a disability. While the ADA is meant to make the workplace accessible to all, research from the Department of Labor tells a different story:

• The unemployment rate for disabled workers is 2x that of workers without a disability.
• People with a disability with a bachelor’s degree are three times less likely to be employed than those with no disability.

These statistics show there isn’t access to equal opportunity in the workplace. We hold employers accountable for disability discrimination and ADA violations.

Application and Interview Process

Employers are not permitted to deter people with disabilities from applying for jobs. The ADA prohibits employers from discrimination based on disability during the hiring process.

• Online applications must be accessible
• Employers must not ask any disability-related questions on applications
• Reasonable accommodations for interviews or pre-employment tests must be provided

It is also unlawful to discriminate against an applicant or employee, whether disabled or not, because of the individual’s family, business, social or other relationship or association with an individual with a disability.

Denying Reasonable Accommodation

Many reasonable accommodations are no cost or low cost. Employers often deny these accommodations and cite “undue hardship” due to cost before doing their research. Of the 2,744 employers who have participated in the Job Accommodation Network survey 58% stated the accommodations cost absolutely nothing to make, and the remaining said that accommodations made had a typical cost of only $500.

The ADA also prohibits an employer from retaliating against an applicant or employee for asserting his or her rights to reasonable accommodations.

Pay And Benefits: Involuntary Part-Time

Five percent of workers with a disability work part-time involuntarily, compared with about three percent of those with no disability. If an individual with a disability is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job they must be offered the same access to hours as workers without a disability.

How to File an ADA Claim

Filing a disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Action (ADA) is a unique process. It is also an extremely important process that can impact your life for years—if not decades—to come. As a result, it is important to make sure you do everything necessary to assert your legal rights effectively, and this starts with putting an experienced lawyer on your side.

The process of filing an ADA claim starts with submitting a complaint (or “charge”) to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). While employees can file charges through the EEOC’s website, it is critical to ensure that your filing contains all necessary information. If it doesn’t, the EEOC may have no choice but to deny your claim even if you are clearly a victim of disability discrimination in the workplace.

Once you properly file a charge that contains all required information, the EEOC will evaluate your claim, conduct its own investigation and perhaps attempt to facilitate a resolution with your employer. If you and your employer agree on a resolution, this will be the end of the process. If your employer refuses to cooperate, or if the EEOC declines to take action on your behalf, the Commission should then issue a “right to sue” letter that allows you to take your complaint to court.

With this in mind, if you think you may have a disability discrimination claim under the ADA, you should:

• Collect All Relevant Employment Records – Try to collect all of the records you have received from your employer related to your disability discrimination claim. If you have been denied a reasonable accommodation, this includes all records related to your request.
• Collect All Relevant Medical Records – You will need to collect your relevant medical records as well. This includes your medical records that document your disability.
• Learn More About Your Rights Under the ADA – While employees with disabilities have clear legal rights under the ADA, understanding your legal rights can be challenging. We have published several articles on ADA claims that you can read to learn more.
• Think About the Remedy (or Remedies) You Want to Seek – Are you still interested in seeking a reasonable accommodation? Do you want your old job back? Or, are you more interested in obtaining financial compensation and moving on? You should think carefully about the remedy (or remedies) you want to seek in your disability discrimination case.
• Talk to an ADA Lawyer Who Can Help You – As we mentioned above, if you have an ADA claim, you will want an experienced lawyer on your side. The first step is to schedule a free consultation with a lawyer who can explain your situation and help you decide what to do next.

Strict deadlines apply to disability discrimination claims under the ADA. If you wait too long to assert your legal rights, you could lose them. To make sure you don’t run out of time to file a charge with the EEOC, we strongly recommend that you schedule a free consultation with an ADA lawyer at Murphy Law Group as soon as possible. 

Murphy Law Group will Fight for your Disability and ADA Rights

There are strict deadlines associated with bringing claims of discrimination, including disability discrimination claims. In fact, you may only have 180 days to file a claim or your rights to the claim could be forever waived.

Murphy Law Group represents residents of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs, including residents of Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Berks, Lancaster, Northampton, Lehigh, Lackawanna, and Luzerne Counties, residents located in central and western Pennsylvania, as well as individuals residing in New Jersey, who have potential ADA claims. Murphy Law Group is dedicated to protecting the rights of Pennsylvania and New Jersey workers.

If you believe you have been discriminated against you should contact an employment attorney today for a free initial consultation at 267-273-1054.