Boca Raton Employment Law Blog

Discrimination against disabled individuals comes in many different forms. Florida employees who have certain types of disabling medical conditions have the right to seek reasonable accommodations in order to do their jobs. Unless these adjustments will cause undue financial loss or cause a significant negative impact on operations, employers must provide them for the employee. One form of discrimination is termination of an employee because of his or her disability.

There are state and federal laws that protect employees from being unfairly fired from their jobs. If an employer does attempt to fire an employee, there must be clear and valid grounds to do so. Even in an at-will employment state like Florida, employers cannot fire someone for illegal or unreasonable reasons. Disability is not a valid reason to terminate someone's employment, nor is race, gender, religious practices and other reasons.

Living with a disability might have its own challenges, but maintaining employment should not have to be one. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects workers with disabilities from unfair treatment in the workplace -- or at least it is supposed to. Despite the protections afforded by the ADA, workers with disabilities in Florida still face plenty of problems at work.

Workers with hearing and vision impairments are protected at work by the ADA. However, in a list of the top types of workplace discrimination, hearing and vision discrimination rank at numbers 19 and 27, respectively. Regardless of their innate abilities to hear or see, workplaces are supposed to provide reasonable accommodations for all workers. This includes modifying things like testing, job training and website accessibility when necessary.

Do you dread going to work not because you do not like your job but because of a specific co-worker, supervisor or another person associated with your employment? While it is common for people to have personality clashes with those they work with, your situation may be more than that. You may feel anxious or stressed and may even consider calling in sick some days because you do not want to deal with your workplace environment.

These feelings may stem from facing sexual harassment on the job. Perhaps a co-worker constantly makes inappropriate remarks about you or other co-workers. Another person could subject you to unwanted touching that makes you feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, a variety of actions could relate to this type of harassment at work.

State and federal laws protect Florida employees from certain types of treatment in the workplace. Despite these laws, sexual harassment can be a serious problem for many. It's much more than an inconvenience. It can actually lead to serious mental health struggles, including an increased chance of experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviors. This type of harassment has also been linked to physical symptoms, like sicknesses that can cause missed days from work.

It's been understood that sexual harassment can lead to physical problems, but it's psychological impact is grave as well. A recent study found a strong connection between those who experienced unwanted sexual advances and contact at work and suicidal tendencies. These findings underscore the fact that harassment is not just bad behavior, immaturity or an unfortunate occurrence. It is actually a direct threat to a victim's mental health and even his or her life.