How To Prove Disability Discrimination at Work
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has made it illegal for U.S. employers to discriminate against employees with disabilities since 1990. Employers are required to provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodations under ADA guidelines. Consider hiring a disability lawyer in Kansas City if your employer has subjected you to discriminatory treatment.
This treatment comes in many different forms. For example, you might face harassment based on disability status. You may also deal with retaliation for accommodation requests.
Knowing how to prove disability discrimination will help you file a lawsuit against your employer and improve your chances of earning a legal victory. See the steps you should take below.
Document All Discrimination
If something seems off with the way your employer treats you as opposed to the comparative treatment of non-disabled employees, this should cause you to do more than just raise an eyebrow. It should also motivate you to start documenting any disability discrimination you encounter at work.
If you ever feel that an employer has discriminated against you, take a few minutes to write down everything you remember about a specific incident. Capture these key details as you do so:
- What was said to you
- Who said it
- Where it was said and what its context was
- How it made you feel
- Which employment laws it violates
Try not to rely solely on your memory. Jot down as much information as possible in the immediate aftermath of these incidents. This may help you determine how to prove disability discrimination later. Be sure to make these notes on your own time, not on company time, and keep them in a private place (not on your employer-owned device).
Maintain a Chronological List of Discriminatory Events
As time passes, you should keep detailed records related to the treatment you’re facing at work. You should also begin putting discriminatory events into chronological order to ensure you can make sense of them moving forward.
Providing an attorney with a comprehensive, well-organized list of the discriminatory events you have faced will make it easier for them to create a compelling case on your behalf. Employment laws provide you with legal protections, and filing a discrimination claim is one of your many rights.
Keep Evidence of Communications That Include Discrimination
Whenever possible, preserve any communications that showcase the discrimination you have encountered at work. Examples include:
If you have emails or other correspondence that will help you prove your claims, you should make sure to have a hard copy or some other way to preserve the document. Often, terminations are abrupt, and you may not have time to gather information. Again, be sure not to compile evidence on company time. Your employer might not put anything perceived as discrimination in writing. This is one of the challenges for employees with disabilities who wish to bring lawsuits against their employers.
Still, you shouldn’t let this stop you from collecting as much evidence as possible. It could bolster your case and lead to a larger settlement or judgment at the end of it.
Let Us Help You Determine How To Prove Disability Discrimination at Work
If you struggle to prove disability discrimination at work, a lawyer from Dugan Schlozman, LLC, will help you understand it. We are also here to help those dealing with other forms of unfair treatment within the workplace, such as pay discrimination.
Contact us at 913-322-3528 to hear how our legal team can assist you.
