Disability Accommodations Upon Return From Medical Leave
Most employers and employees are aware that employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees and job applicants with disabilities, but they do not understand the full range of applications of this rule. There are many more scenarios where reasonable accommodations may be necessary besides the classic case of a newly hired employee with a visible disability. There is more to disability accommodations than providing accessible computer equipment to an employee who has been blind since birth or ensuring an accessible workspace for an employee who has been using a wheelchair since before beginning his or her current job. Many requests for disability accommodations arise from health issues that begin during the employee’s tenure of employment; the disability may not be visible, and the employee and his or her doctors may not know how long the employee will continue to need the accommodations. If your employer refused to make reasonable accommodations for you after you were diagnosed with a disability, or if your employer took an adverse action against you because you requested disability accommodations, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.
Addiction Treatment Center Pays $55,000 Settlement to Former Employee Who Alleged Wrongful Termination Related to Disability Accommodation Request
With the help of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a former employee received a $55,000 settlement from the employer that wrongfully terminated his employment in response to his request for reasonable accommodations. The employee had been working as a counselor at an addiction treatment center in northern California when he suffered a medical emergency that required him to take a leave of absence from work for several months. When his doctors authorized him to return to work, he required accommodations in order to perform his job duties. When he requested the accommodations, the employer should have negotiated with him until the parties agreed on accommodations that would meet the employees’ needs and which the employer had the resources to provide. Instead, the employer terminated the employee’s employment.
The employee contacted the EEOC, since the law requires this as a prerequisite to filing an employment discrimination lawsuit. The EEOC determined that he had grounds to sue, but before he filed the lawsuit, the parties agreed to a settlement of $55,000, to compensate for the income that the employee lost due to unfair termination of his employment. The employer also agreed to update its policies on educating its employees on legal requirements regarding disability accommodations. Most employment discrimination cases, as with most disputes for which the public has recourse to the civil courts, reach a settlement without going to trial.
Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer
A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can represent you in employment discrimination cases if you requested reasonable accommodations for a disability, but your employer fired you or took another adverse action against you. Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.
