Disabled Florida residents in the workforce who believe that they have been a victim of employment discrimination may have legal recourse under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The ADA is federal law that prohibits local and state governments, private employers, labor organizations, employment agencies and labor management committees from engaging in employment discrimination against qualified individuals. The employment practices covered by the ADA include hiring, training, recruiting, making job assignments, firing, giving benefits and any other activities pertaining to employment.
It is important to note that the ADA also prohibits employers from retaliating against qualified disabled individuals for asserting their ADA rights. Discrimination based on a relationship with a disabled individual is also prohibited.
The federal agency that enforces ADA regulations is the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which works to ensure compliance among employers that have at least 15 employees. For local and state government programs, the United States Department of Justice works to ensure ADA compliance no matter how many employees the organization has.
According to the ADA, individuals are considered to have a disability if they have a mental or physical impairment that significantly restricts them from engaging in a major life activity. ADA protections are also applied to individuals who have a disability history or who are believed by an employer to have a disability whether or not the disability actually exists.
A disability must be a substantial impairment in order to fall under ADA protections. Qualified impairments include those that substantially restrict walking, seeing, breathing, performing manual tasks, speaking or other major life actions.
Disabled individuals who believe they have been victims of discrimination at work may seek workplace disability discrimination law firm help. An attorney may file the necessary charges with the appropriate federal entity to hold a negligent employer financially liable for wrongful termination or other acts of discrimination.
