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EEOC notices decrease in disability discrimination claims

On Behalf of | Feb 20, 2014 | Workplace Disability Discrimination

Individuals in Florida are protected from discrimination in the workplace under both state and federal law. The sad truth is that some employers choose to violate this workplace right, and individuals are forced to endure a hostile work environment or suffer adverse employment actions as a result.

In fact, according to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, at least 93,727 individuals in the 2013 fiscal year claimed to have suffered job-related discrimination. These claims involved discrimination based on at least one of the protected classes. Out of those claims, there were 25,957 based on disability-related job discrimination.

The good news is that the total number of claims filed with the EEOC from Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013 decreased by 442 claims from the ones that were filed during the same period the prior year. The bad news is that in at least 5,675 of the disability-related cases the victims were found to have suffered harm that added up to at least $109 million in damages.

Under the laws mentioned above, employers are required to reasonably accommodate the needs of workers with a disability. Although the definition of reasonable accommodation is often argued over in a discrimination case, the general right is one that many people are probably aware of.

What might not be as obvious to residents is the fact that employment law in Florida also protects those that may not actually have a disability but only a perceived one.

Whether the discrimination is based on an actual or perceived disability, victims of this type of employment violation have the right to seek compensation through the assistance of a personal injury attorney in Palm Beach.

Source: Disability Scoop, “Workplace Disability Discrimination Claims See Decline,” Michelle Diament, Feb. 11, 2014