Medical Condition Discrimination
Medical condition discrimination denies the employee what should have been rightfully theirs if it weren’t for their medical conditions. In the workplace, as far as the law is concerned, employers are not allowed to engage in any form of discrimination against any individual due to their medical condition. In practice, employers are to instead offer due accommodation to their employees who live with a medical condition.
The only ground exempting them from this obligation is when providing such accommodation facility results in extreme hardship. Depending on their medical situation, certain employees who feel discriminated against can bring an action against their victimizing employers for damages. In this piece, we’ll highlight and elaborate on certain details that survivors of discrimination practices need to keep in mind before considering filing a suit for discrimination.
Employers are not to refuse to hire anyone with a medical condition
Employers are expected to assess job prospects with little to no regard for their supposed or real medical conditions. Discrimination based on medical condition is outlawed in any form of hiring which includes:
- Refusal to offer decent accommodation
- Refusal to participate in a timeous, well-intentioned interactive session with employees who need a reasonable accommodation
- Demotion
- Pay reduction
- Promotion denial
- Refusal to hire
- Denial of benefits
- Harassment
- And any other discrimination in any manner due to the employee’s med conditions.
Interestingly, it’s great you know that the enactments against medical condition discrimination are not restricted to employers. Similarly, they apply to labor organizations and unions. These organizations are forbidden from attempting the exclusion, expulsion, and restriction of memberships to a certain individual because of their national origin. Moreover, this type of discrimination is relevant to employment agencies and apprenticeship training schedules.
The legal forms of medical conditions that both California and US federal legislations protect against
The relevant law for general discrimination and employment issues in California is the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Under California law, a “medical condition” is regarded as any of the following:
- Any health deficiency linked to a finding of cancer or a history or record of cancer
- Genetic characteristics
Medical conditions also intersect with physical or mental disabilities. A “mental disability” accounts for any psychological or mental condition that restricts the main life activity. These restrictions are assessed with little to no concerns about assistive tools, mediation, or decent accommodations. Examples of mental disabilities may account for chronic ailments such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, dementia, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and others. Physical disabilities involve temporary or permanent conditions such as impaired eyesight, impaired hearing, chronic diseases, hepatitis, diabetes, etc.
The Issue of Medical exams to qualify for a job
Where other probable employees aren’t expected to attempt medical exams, employers can’t request a job prospect to attempt such exams either. Also, if the exams have little or nothing to do with the business expediencies, there’s no point, according to law, demanding such exams. Inexact application questions and improper interviews may be a symptom of likely violations of medical condition discrimination.
Most times, interviewers designated by employers request answers to issues of general health, med condition, physical or mental disability. This should not be so. However, it is one thing for the employer to want to know more about if applicants can carry out the core tasks of the work and how they’d carry out such work. And, this may be permitted. But, if an employer goes to the extreme of asking general or specific medical questions which can be adjudged as making the response a determinant to getting the job, there’s certainly fire on the rooftop.
The only reasons your employer may ask you questions relating to your medical state are these:
- The employer feels the employee can’t carry out a job effectively due to a medical condition
- The employer needs some medical report to effectively assist the employee with decent accommodation.
What Reasonable Accommodation means
Do you wonder what “reasonable accommodation” would be? A reasonable or decent accommodation goes farther than barely arranging some structural facility for the employee or prospect living with a medical condition. Indeed, reasonable accommodation refers to any arrangement that will let the applicant or employee carry out the core job functions. This would account for
- Reshuffling the job;
- Adjusting work schedules;
- Part-time scheduling;
- Reassigning to an unfilled position;
- Modifying to training materials
- Adjusting equipment
- Adjusting work policies
Unless it would result in extreme hardship, the employer is responsible for providing reasonable accommodation to the employee. In defining “undue hardship”, the cost and nature of the facility would be considered. Moreover, the general fiscal resources relevant to making the facility available will be looked at as well. Again, the form of operations of the personnel of the organization will also be considered.
Filing a complaint on medical condition discrimination
Discriminating against an employee due to their medical condition violates the law in California and the US. On the federal scene, there is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which imposes federal Anti-discrimination laws. At the state level, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) deals with applications against medical condition discrimination.
Before you file a discrimination lawsuit, it’s advisable you talk the issue over with a supervisor or HR to try and resolve it. If your efforts yield no result, then you may lodge a complaint with the DFEH or the EEOC.
In certain cases, the law in California provides comprehensive protections against discrimination issues than the federal legislation. If you want to file your complaint personally in California, it’s required you exhaust all prior administrative facilities before doing so. However, if you engage an attorney to do that for you, your attorney, without needing to wait for some administrative procedure, can get an instant right to sue notice.
Suing your employer for medical condition discrimination in California
It’s your civil right to enjoy the opportunity of seeking and holding employment without any discrimination based on a medical condition. Generally, an employee needs to just file a complaint in a civil court. This demands getting “a right to sue’ notification before you can take your case to court. Bringing an action in court is only advised if you’ve got an attorney. Without needing to wait for any investigation by the DFEH, your attorney can help you obtain the notice and file your matter in a civil court in California.
Employer’s Retaliation against workplace discrimination lawsuits
If your employer moves to retaliate against you for reporting discrimination, you can file a complaint with the DFEH. An employer should not fire an employee for bringing a workplace discrimination lawsuit. Doing so is likely to be considered a retaliatory move, and may be regarded as wrongful termination.