DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

The ADA is the primary federal law prohibiting disability discrimination in employment. Title I of the ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees and prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment — hiring, firing, pay, promotions, job assignments, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. The ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees and applicants with disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer's operations.

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 significantly broadened the definition of disability, making it easier for employees to establish that they are covered by the law. Under the current standard, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, concentrating, thinking, communicating, sleeping, eating, lifting, bending, reading, and working, among others. The amended definition is intended to be interpreted broadly, and courts have recognized a wide range of conditions as disabilities including diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, multiple sclerosis, heart conditions, back injuries, and many other

West Virginia's Human Rights Act prohibits disability discrimination by employers with 12 or more employees. The Act's definition of disability is broadly interpreted, and West Virginia courts have applied it to cover a wide range of physical and mental conditions. Importantly, the West Virginia Human Rights Act does not cap compensatory or punitive damages, making it a particularly powerful tool for disability discrimination claims. The Act also protects employees who are perceived as having a disability, even if they do not actually have one — addressing situations where an employer takes adverse action based on stereotypes or assumptions about a condition.

Ohio's anti-discrimination statute prohibits disability discrimination and applies to employers with four or more employees, providing broader coverage than the federal ADA. Ohio law defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations. Our Canton office attorneys are experienced in pursuing disability discrimination claims under Ohio's specific statutory framework.

The most common disability discrimination claims involve an employer's refusal to provide reasonable accommodations. This includes outright denying accommodation requests, ignoring requests and hoping the employee gives up, providing ineffective accommodations that do not actually address the limitation, and refusing to engage in the interactive process at all. If you requested an accommodation and your employer denied it without exploring alternatives or demonstrating undue hardship, you may have a failure-to-accommodate claim.

Employers who fire, demote, refuse to hire, deny promotions to, or otherwise disadvantage employees because of a disability are engaging in illegal discrimination. This includes situations where the employer takes action based on stereotypes or assumptions about the disability — for example, assuming that an employee with epilepsy cannot work safely, without conducting an individualized assessment of the employee's actual abilities and limitations.

The ADA strictly limits when and how employers can make disability-related inquiries or require medical examinations. Before making a job offer, the employer generally cannot ask about disabilities or require medical exams. After a conditional job offer, the employer can require a medical examination only if it requires the same examination of all entering employees in that job category. During employment, disability-related inquiries and medical exams are permitted only when they are job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Persistent comments, jokes, or negative remarks about an employee's disability can create a hostile work environment. When disability-based harassment is severe or pervasive enough to alter the employee's working conditions, it constitutes illegal discrimination. This includes mocking an employee's physical limitations, mimicking speech patterns associated with a disability, or making comments suggesting that the employee is a burden.