Individuals with disabilities have protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers cannot discriminate against or harass an individual because he or she has a disability. Additionally, employers must provide reasonable accommodations for these employees so they can do their jobs adequately.
While these protections exist, many employers disregard them. Some bosses are merely unaware of what the law entails. Employees with disabilities need to be aware of their rights and how to fight back when they experience discrimination in some form.
Assert your rights in the workplace
The first thing to do is to talk to your boss about the discrimination you experienced. For example, many employers look over disabled employees for promotions because they believe the workers cannot handle the additional responsibilities. A higher-paying job may require driving, and an employer is unaware people with disabilities can still drive. In this instance, the employee should assert the case he or she should receive the promotion based on merit and is perfectly capable of handling the extra tasks.
File a complaint internally
An employer may reverse the initial decision on your word alone. In other instances, you will need to file a formal complaint with your company’s HR department. Your particular supervisor may not see a big deal in the discrimination, but people within the human resources department will. Filing one of these complaints also helps you in the event you need to take further legal action.
File a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
If the problem still has no resolution to your liking, you can turn to the EEOC. You have 300 days from the date the discrimination took place to file one of these complaints, so you need to act quickly. The agency will then get in touch with your employer to get all the details of the case. From there, you may receive a right-to-sue letter.