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What do employers need to know about disability discrimination?

Employers in Texas may have to be prepared to deal with a range of legal challenges at any given time, but none can be as troubling as an allegation of discrimination.

For the most part, employers do their best to comply with applicable laws and regulations, but sometimes that isn’t enough to deter a disgruntled employee – or former employee – from filing an employment law case.

Discrimination allegations can come in many forms, from race and gender discrimination to age or even pregnancy discrimination. One form of discrimination that oftentimes goes overlooked is disability discrimination.

So, what do employers in Texas need to know about disability discrimination? Well, for starters, the basic foundation of allegations of this type of discrimination is similar to all other forms of discrimination: different treatment based on some factor about a person.

Disability discrimination is different, however, because a disabled employee or potential employee can ask an employer for reasonable accommodations for the disability in question. And, if the employer doesn’t provide those accommodations, this could be viewed as discrimination.

Is the request reasonable?

Just because an employer doesn’t provide what the employee views as a reasonable accommodation doesn’t mean that discrimination is happening. The request may not, in fact, be reasonable.

Disputes over what is “reasonable” are common occurrences in disability discrimination allegations.

In the end, employers in Texas need to know how to comply with the law. Getting the right information about any potential legal issue involving a disabled employee or potential employee can put employers in a better position to avoid lawsuits.