There are numerous types of discrimination that professionals can face in their workplace. Some people face religious or racial discrimination. Others deal with unfair treatment on the basis of their sex or their age.
Disability discrimination is also somewhat common. Federal rules have protected workers from discrimination on the basis of disabling medical conditions for decades. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) helps ensure that workers with disabling medical conditions receive fair and reasonable treatment throughout their careers.
The state of California has enhanced these federal protections and expanded the rights of workers with disabling medical conditions.
How is the law different in California?
Under the ADA, employers may have an obligation to provide reasonable employment accommodations. Those accommodations may include work-from-home arrangements, flexible scheduling, changes to job tasks, modifications to the workspace or even assistive technology.
Under the ADA, any company with 15 or more employees generally has to provide reasonable accommodations if workers have appropriate medical documentation affirming their condition and the need for support. Many workers have jobs with businesses that don’t actually meet the 15-employee threshold.
Thankfully, California lawmakers helped close the gap created by the ADA. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), workplace accommodations are necessary for any business with five or more employees. That substantially expands the pool of workers who are eligible for workplace accommodations.
Many employers count on their workers lacking information about their rights or feeling uncomfortable about using them. They may refuse to accommodate workers who clearly need support to do their jobs. In some cases, they may even illegally fire employees who asked for accommodations. Such conduct may constitute actionable discrimination.
Learning about the laws that help protect workers from different types of workplace discrimination can help employees assert themselves when companies mistreat them because of their unique protected characteristics. Workers with disabling medical conditions deserve support. Those who don’t receive it can sometimes hold their employers accountable.