Disability Discrimination in Employment
Unlocking Disability Discrimination InsightsUnderstanding disability discrimination can be complex. Learn about your rights and protections under federal and state laws. Explore what constitutes disability discrimination, the importance of reasonable accommodations, and how perceived disability can affect your workplace rights.
What is Considered a Disability?A disability under the disability discrimination laws means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
"Substantially limiting" under the ADA means the impairment is either permanent or long term. If you have a short term condition, you may still qualify for benefits and protection under the Massachusetts Paid Family Leave Act, but will most likely not be covered by the disability discrimination laws unless or until it becomes a more long term problem. The condition, mental or physical, must also substantially limit a "major life activity." Things that are recognized as major life activities include walking, seeing, reading, bending and communicating. It also includes major bodily functions. These can include the immune system and digestive, bowel, bladder, respiratory, neurological, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions. Disability Discrimination: Termination IssuesA direct example of disability discrimination is when a disabled employee who is able to do their job without accommodation is terminated because of discomfort with or assumptions about their disability. We see this most often with mental health conditions, but it has occurred with physical disabilities as well.
Like any other form of discrimination, if you claim disability discrimination, your employer will have to provide evidence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the action. Examples include documented poor performance, company reorganization, financial considerations, or employee violations of policy. The employee must then establish that the claimed reason is pretext for discrimination- in other words, something manufactured to cover the true motive for the employment action. Disability Discrimination: Failure to AccommodateIf you have a disability (mental or physical) that affects your ability to perform the essential functions of your job, you are entitled to reasonable accommodations for that disability. It is the employee's obligation to make the request for an accommodation, after which the employer must engage in an "interactive dialogue" about the accommodation.
Whether an accommodation is reasonable, and therefore required, can vary significantly based on the facts. Special chairs or other office furniture to accommodate physical issues like back pain are common accommodations. Remote work in many cases is a reasonable accommodation, though in some cases employers have made the argument that physical presence is required for either the actual tasks related to the job or for expected communication and collaboration. Additional time off to attend to treatment is another common accommodation. The key question is whether the accommodation can be done without undue burden on the employer, and will allow you to perform the essential functions of your job despite the disability. You will be expected to provide information from your health care provider about the nature of your disability and the requested accommodation. |
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Disability Discrimination: Perceived Disability
Firing or otherwise taking action against an employee because they are "regarded as" having a disability is also prohibited discrimination. This is also known as perceived disability discrimination. There must be some kind of actual underlying impairment for this to apply, and it often comes into play when the employer has beliefs or perceptions about the effect of the impairment that are not accurate.
This issue often arises when an individual returns to work after a medical leave, especially in cases where the reason for the leave was a mental health issue. For this reason, you should also be aware of your rights against retaliation for taking medical leave under the federal FMLA or the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Act
This issue often arises when an individual returns to work after a medical leave, especially in cases where the reason for the leave was a mental health issue. For this reason, you should also be aware of your rights against retaliation for taking medical leave under the federal FMLA or the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Act
Time Limits for Discrimination Claims
In most cases, the statute of limitations for discrimination lawsuits, including disability discrimination, is 300 days, or roughly 10 months. While some sources may mention a 180-day or six-month deadline under federal law, Massachusetts allows additional time for federal claims.
This 10-month deadline applies to filing the initial complaint with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). If you decide to withdraw your complaint from these agencies, you'll have more time to file a complaint in court. For state claims, you have up to three years from the event that gave rise to the claim.
If you were terminated, the starting date for the statute of limitations is usually the date of your termination. If your claim arises from a failure to provide reasonable accommodations, the starting date most likely is the date on which your request for accommodations was denied.
However, be aware that MCAD or EEOC processing times can sometimes exceed three years. If your complaint is still pending at MCAD after two and a half years or more, it's advisable to consider withdrawing it and filing in court before the three-year limit expires.
This 10-month deadline applies to filing the initial complaint with either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). If you decide to withdraw your complaint from these agencies, you'll have more time to file a complaint in court. For state claims, you have up to three years from the event that gave rise to the claim.
If you were terminated, the starting date for the statute of limitations is usually the date of your termination. If your claim arises from a failure to provide reasonable accommodations, the starting date most likely is the date on which your request for accommodations was denied.
However, be aware that MCAD or EEOC processing times can sometimes exceed three years. If your complaint is still pending at MCAD after two and a half years or more, it's advisable to consider withdrawing it and filing in court before the three-year limit expires.
Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with severance and non compete review and negotiation, wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, and advice about employment law generally.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, and advice to both employees and employers about navigating complex employment situations.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients with review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, wage and hour disputes, employment and discrimination claims, and advice to small business owners about employment law and other business matters.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients on the employee and employer side with all varieties of employment law issues, including employment discrimination, retaliation, and wage and hour issues, litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts, and advising employers about employment policies and practices.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, review and negotiation of severance agreements, and litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts on employment related issues.
How We Can Help
We can help you navigate these issues and get clarity on your rights and obligations in the face of an actual or imminent employment termination or other instances of discrimination. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.