Workers in Washington state have many different types of legal protections. Some of those protections come from state statutes, and others relate to federal law. Workers typically should not have to worry about discrimination where employers treat them differently due to factors outside of their control.
A variety of different personal characteristics have protection under state and federal law. Workers with disabling medical conditions should not have to worry about employers treating them differently because of their medical status. Instead, they should receive the same consideration as anyone else based on their training, experience and ability to perform job functions.
Disability discrimination sometimes involves a company refusing to hire workers because of their medical issues. Other times, disability discrimination involves a refusal to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker who can do the job with support. Do employers have an obligation to accommodate workers with disabling medical conditions?
Many workers have a right to seek support
Technically, any employee with medical limitations can request support from an employer. However, not every employer has to agree to every accommodation request. The right to reasonable accommodations comes from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Title I of this crucial federal statute establishes the right of employees to request reasonable accommodations for documented medical challenges. The ADA applies to any business with 15 or more employees. Companies that are smaller than that can potentially justify the decision to deny accommodation requests because the ADA does not technically apply to them.
The other potential justification employers can offer for denying a worker’s accommodation request is the claim that the request creates undue hardship. If a business can credibly assert that the type of support the worker requests could prove massively disruptive to company operations or create an onerous financial burden on the company, then the organization may be able to deny the request without violating the law.
Finally, companies do not have to accommodate workers who lack appropriate medical documentation. Employees seeking accommodations typically need medical documentation affirming their need for a specific type of support. They may also need to follow a process implemented by their employer when requesting accommodations.
If an employer refuses to accommodate a worker despite the worker following the right procedures, then that could constitute disability discrimination. Fighting back against disability discrimination can be a challenging process. Workers may need help evaluating their situation and preparing to take legal action to hold an employer accountable for discriminating against them.