If you have a health condition, including mental illness (like depression or bipolar disorder) or a long term illness (like cancer), and your employer refuses to work with you to help you succeed at work (i.e., offer a reasonable accommodation), you may have a claim for disability discrimination. If you have been mistreated for your age, race, sex, or religious beliefs, you also might be a victim of discrimination.

Examples of Disability Discrimination

An employee is considered disabled under the law if:

• She has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (like walking, talking, seeing, hearing, learning, or breathing); or
• She has a history of this kind of disability (such as cancer in remission or mental disease that does not require accommodation); or
• She is believed to have a physical or mental impairment, whether or not she actually has the impairment.

You may have a claim for disability discrimination if you are subjected to harassment because of your disability even if you do not need a reasonable accommodation. Harassment can be offensive or insulting comments about your disability. Harassment about someone’s disability is illegal when it is so frequent or serious that it creates a hostile work environment or when it results in a tangible employment decision, like being demoted, disciplined, or terminated.

Common Examples of Discrimination

You may have a claim for disability discrimination if:

• Your employer knows you have a disabling condition, but holds you responsible for work you missed when you were on approved leave for the condition—like chemotherapy treatments for cancer;
• Your employer knows you have a disabling condition that requires a certain diet, like diabetes, but refuses to permit you to eat and drink at your workstation to treat high and low blood sugars;
• Your employer refuses to provide a reasonable accommodation to allow you to be successful in your job, like providing ergonomic equipment to manage repetitive use injuries; or allowing you to bring an assistance animal into the workplace;
• Your employer describes your disabling condition in an insulting or demeaning way;
• Your employer holds you to different performance and/or conduct standards than your non-disabled co-workers
• Your employer disciplines you for approved absences related to your disability

Hire Our Kansas City Disability Discrimination Lawyers

We have handled dozens of cases of disability discrimination against a variety of employers, and our practice specializes in these kinds of cases. Sometimes disability discrimination claims can be resolved with a simple letter, but we have always done whatever is necessary for our clients, including mediations, arbitrations, and jury trials. There are specific time lines for filing charges of disability discrimination against your employer. If you or someone you know has a situation that may be discrimination or harassment, contact us for a free consultation by calling our offices in Kansas City and Overland Park at 913-322-3528.