What Are My Rights as an Employee or Job Applicant with a Disability?
written by Loren Pilcher
The Federal government ensures that people with disabilities have certain rights that protect them from discrimination in the workplace through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. Before we talk about rights, it’s important to know exactly what discrimination means.
Discrimination happens when an employer treats someone in a negative, unfriendly, or unfair manner because they either have a disability, have a history of a disability, or the employer thinks the person may have a disability.
Discrimination can take place after a person gets a job, but it can also happen during the application and interview process. In addition, discrimination can occur if a company puts a seemingly “fair” policy or procedure in place, but it actually has an unintentional discriminatory effect on disabled employees or applicants. For example, if an employer requires employees to have a driver’s license even though driving is not a part of the job duties. This is discriminatory because it means that people with certain physical or intellectual disabilities who cannot drive won’t be able to work there even though they are qualified for the job.
Employees also have the right to be provided with a “reasonable accommodation” that will allow them to perform their job duties. For more information on accommodations, see Work to Include’s blog on the topic here. An employer must also provide reasonable accommodations during the application process to allow a person not only to apply for a position, but also to seriously be considered for the job.
Your rights are fairly straightforward when it comes to the workplace.
Because you have a disability, have a history of disability, or your employer thinks you have a mental or physical impairment related to a disability, you can’t be:
Denied employment
Harassed
Fired
Demoted
Treated badly
Paid less
In Conclusion
If you feel that an employer has violated any of these rights, you can file a complaint with the United States Department of Justice. You can find out more about this process here. Remember: despite whether a company or person intended to discriminate doesn’t matter, disability discrimination is illegal!
About the writer
Loren Pilcher is the chief operations officer for Sweet, a company for people with developmental disabilities in southern Indiana that provides positive behavior supports, music therapy, community supports, and recreational therapy. He has worked in the field of developmental disabilities in Indiana for close to 20 years, including serving as a direct support professional (DSP), director of supported living, and director of community supports. Loren also worked for the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities in Indiana for several years and performed clinical evaluations for Hoosiers with developmental disabilities in over 40 counties.
Loren Pilcher, Chief Operations Officer at Sweet