Center for the Rights of Disabled Workers: Combating Disability Discrimination
Southern California Disability Discrimination Lawyers
Have you been subject to disability discrimination?
Are you an injured worker? Have any restrictions or modifications been placed on your ability to work by a medical professional? Have you gone out on medical leave due to a “serious health condition”? Have you filed a claim for worker’s compensation benefits? Do you have any other physical or mental condition that limits your ability to do your job without some kind of accommodation at work? Do you suffer from depression or other mental illness? Are you perceived or regarded as disabled now or in future by your Employer? If any of the above describes your situation, you may be disabled within the meaning of California Law.
California disability law provides far greater protections than the more well known Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) under Federal law. If you are "disabled" within the meaning of California law, you have important rights, which we can help you to protect and defend.
California disability law prohibits discrimination on the basis of both “physical” and “mental” disabilities. “Physical disabilities” include but are not limited to, any physiological and anatomical conditions that affect certain body conditions and limit an individual’s ability to participate in major life activities. The following conditions are automatically considered “physical disabilities” if proven, which means that they “limit a major life activity: Chronic or episodic conditions such as HIV/ AIDS; hepatitis; epilepsy; seizure disorder; multiple sclerosis; and heart disease. Other conditions that may be considered “physical disabilities” include, but are not limited to: Back conditions that impair working or other major life activities; polio; hypertension and high blood pressure; hypersensitivity to tobacco smoke; obesity caused by a physiological or systematic basis. A “physical disability” may also include health impairments that require special education or related services. Also, an employee who is perceived to have or have had a disability may sue for disability discrimination.
The term “mental disabilities” is meant to be broadly construed and includes any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities that “limit a major life activity”. Conditions that are automatically presumed to be “mental disabilities” include, but are not limited to: clinical depression; bipolar disorder. Other conditions that may be considered “mental disabilities”, which means that they “limit a major life activity” are: specific learning disabilities; post traumatic stress disorder; any other mental or psychological condition that requires special education or related services; a record or history of such conditions known to the employer; and being regarded by the employer as having or having had a mental condition or disorder that makes achievement of a major life activity difficult, or that although it has no present disabling effect, may become a mental disability.
Combating Disability Discrimination
Two approaches are described below, and may follow one after the other if the first does not get results:
1. Start Early and Protect Your Rights Before Litigation Is Necessary
At the Rubin Law Corporation, we have encountered situations where an employee is out on leave, and needs an accommodation to get back to work. In some instances, a series of letters from this office has been sufficient to help the person re-claim their job.
For example, one of our clients worked at a large corporation before becoming injured on the job and requiring worker’s compensation leave. When our client requested that the employer bring her back to work, the employer refused to enter into a discussion with her to offer her any modified or alternative work. By sending a series of letters on her behalf, we were able to help her assert her rights under California disability law and re-claim her job. She went back to her highly paid position, a position that the employer was previously denying her.
2. Go to Court and Protect Your Rights If A Negotiation Fails
The Rubin Law Corporation represents clients who have been discriminated against on the basis of their disability or who are not receiving the accommodations to which they are entitled under California disability law. In some instances, the most effective course of action is to file a lawsuit to protect an employee’s rights. For instance, a client of ours was a clerical worker in a medical services company who suffered from a disability. She was forced out on medical leave against her wishes after she was harassed on the basis of her disability by her superior. We were able to establish not only the disability, but the fact that she had been harassed as a result of it. She received an expeditious settlement and severance at mediation before trial.
In another case, an HIV positive individual was denied an accommodation and fired based on pre-textual charges. This was documented after a lawsuit was filed and the matter was settled in mediation, before a trial was even convened. The man collected his settlement and took another job.
Call us to determine whether you are disabled within the meaning of California law and to protect and defend your rights as a disabled worker.
Please call 310.385.0777 or contact us via email for an appointment or case evaluation. You can also learn more about Steve Rubin and other attorneys forming your legal team by visiting our Attorney Profiles.
