Employers generally should not consider protected characteristics when making decisions about workers. Federal and state statutes extend protections to workers based on personal factors over which they have no control. Employers should not consider a worker’s age if they are 40 or older. Characteristics including race and sex also should not impact employment opportunities.
The law also prohibits employers from considering genetic information and medical conditions in many cases. So long as a worker can do a job, with or without accommodations, employers should not consider their medical condition when making choices about hiring or firing employees.
One of the most common ways that employers discriminate against workers based on their medical condition is by refusing to provide basic, reasonable accommodations that keep workers safe on the job. Does the law mandate that employers accommodate disabling medical conditions, or can employers refuse accommodation requests without risk?
Many businesses have an obligation to support workers
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is perhaps the most important piece of legislation regarding the rights of workers with disabling medical conditions. This federal law establishes the right to reasonable accommodations.
Provided that an employer has at least 15 employees, the rules in trying in the ADA likely apply. Smaller businesses can sometimes justify the decision to refuse to provide accommodations because the ADA does not apply to them.
Employers should not refuse reasonable requests. Under the ADA, workers can request reasonable accommodations based on their medical needs and the recommendations of a healthcare professional. Employers have the right to request certain forms of documentation when workers ask for reasonable accommodations. The company can affirm that the accommodation is necessary based on the worker’s medical condition.
In some cases, employers can justify denying accommodation requests by proving that the requested support or workplace modification could cause undue hardship. Expensive property modifications or alterations to company operations could be prohibitively expensive or disruptive.
Occasionally, employers can also justify a refusal to accommodate a worker’s request because they did not follow the right process. Larger businesses often have specific procedures in place that workers must follow when requesting medical accommodations.
Employees seeking disability accommodations may need help understanding their rights and reviewing employment documentation to ensure that they follow the right procedures, and that’s okay. Holding employers accountable when they unjustly refuse to provide reasonable accommodations can help frustrated professionals fight back against disability discrimination.
