Even if you have never heard of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), you have probably seen evidence of it everywhere. Most parking lots have spaces reserved for people with disabilities; the spaces are marked with a blue and white logo of a person in a wheelchair, although anyone with a disability may use those parking spaces, not just people who use wheelchairs. You have seen the Braille numbers on elevator buttons and the sign language interpreters on televised announcements.
Making public buildings and services accessible to people with disabilities is only one of the aims of the ADA; another one is to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in education, housing, and the workplace. Even as recent legal challenges have threatened many long-established protections against employment discrimination, the protections against workplace discrimination against employees and job seekers with disabilities remain strong. People with disabilities have the right to fair opportunities for labor force participation and to reasonable accommodations when doing their jobs or during the job interview and training process.
The Boulder disability and reasonable accommodations lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can help you navigate the disability discrimination claim process or request reasonable accommodations from your employer.
Disability is a Protected Characteristic
Employers have the right to choose which workers they hire and which ones they promote or retain. In most states, including Colorado, employers can hire workers on an at-will basis, which means that, unless the employee signed an employment contract, the employer can terminate the employment relationship at any time and for almost any reason. Refusal to hire, denial of promotions, and termination of employment do not count as discrimination unless the employer’s reason for doing them is a protected characteristic of the employee. A protected characteristic is a stable characteristic of the employee that is inseparable from the employee’s own body or the employee’s familial relationships. For example, race, sex, age, and religion are protected characteristics, and so are marital status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy.
Federal and state employment laws acknowledge disability as a protected characteristic and prohibit discrimination based on it. Colorado law defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that limits a person’s ability to engage in one or more life activities. Disabilities can be inborn or acquired, temporary or permanent. A person’s disability may or may not be noticeable by others upon seeing the person. Mobility impairments, blindness, and Deafness are disabilities, and so are complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), chronic migraines, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental delays. Employers may not exclude employees from jobs for which they are otherwise qualified, simply because of the employee’s disability.
The law prohibits employers from engaging in any form of discrimination against employees on the basis of the employees’ protected characteristics. Discrimination can involve any adverse action, including refusal to hire, unfairly negative performance reviews, reassignment of job duties, schedule, or work location when the employee did not request this, refusal of promotions, or termination of employment. A hostile work environment, in which the employer lets supervisors and coworkers bully or harass an employee because of the employee’s protected characteristic, is also a form of discrimination.
Getting Reasonable Accommodations for a Disability
According to Colorado law, employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities when the employee requests them. Employees are entitled to use their accommodations while working, and job applicants may use them during the interview, job screening, and training process. An accommodation does not change the employee’s job duties, but only makes the workplace accessible to the employee when it would otherwise not be. For example, modifications of the work environment or work equipment might be accommodations, as in the following examples:
- A wheelchair-accessible desk
- Speech-to-text and text-to-speech software
- A soft, reclining chair for an employee with chronic pain, when other employees use swivel chairs with less substantial seats and backs
- An office with dark window shades for an employee who is sensitive to bright sunlight
It is also a reasonable accommodation if an employer lets an employee bring a service dog or emotional support animal to work, even when company policies ordinarily do not allow domestic animals in the workplace. Employers are not responsible for providing medical equipment that the employee uses in his or her life outside of work, in addition to in the workplace; employers are not responsible for paying for employees’ wheelchairs, hearing aids, or eyeglasses. Employer-provided health insurance may cover these costs, but employer-provided health insurance does not count as a disability accommodation.
To request accommodations for your disability, bring a letter from your doctor certifying that you need these accommodations. Whether an accommodation is reasonable depends on whether it is especially burdensome for the employer; most workplace accommodations in Colorado do not cost more than $500. Inability to make the accommodation that you request does not always count as discrimination. For example, if you require a reclining chair because of your chronic back pain, your employer may not be able to afford to buy one for you, especially if this would require the employer to buy a different kind of desk than most of the employees use. Employers and employees must negotiate until they agree on an accommodation that is affordable for the employer and enables the employee to do his or her job. In the above example, if the employer cannot afford the accessible chair and desk, they might allow the employee to work from home, except to attend group meetings that require in-person attendance.
What Can Your Employer Ask About Your Disability?
Your accommodation request letter does not include any information about your diagnosis, pursuant to medical privacy laws. It only lists the accommodations you require. Employers may not require you to undergo any medical tests or physical fitness tests except those that all employees must undergo, regardless of whether they have requested disability accommodations.
Contact HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP, About Disability and Reasonable Accommodations
The Boulder employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP, can counsel you about disability and reasonable accommodations. Contact the employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP in Boulder, Colorado, to set up a consultation.
