Most workplaces in Texas adhere to the laws and treat their employees equally regardless of their differences. However, sometimes, certain workers such as those with disabilities face discrimination. There are different types of workplace disability discrimination that can occur.
Understanding what’s considered a disability
Employees are considered to have a disability when they have a condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This can be a physical or mental impairment; some examples include having to use a wheelchair, blindness, deafness, autism, learning disabilities, Down’s syndrome and HIV infection.
Types of employment disability discrimination
Employment discrimination based on disability or other statuses such as race, gender, age and more are illegal, but that doesn’t always stop it from happening. Workers with disabilities sometimes experience discrimination at the hands of their coworkers, supervisors and employers. Four types of disability discrimination exist; one is failing to provide reasonable accommodation when it’s requested. By law, employers must modify a person’s job tasks or workstation or provide special equipment if they ask for it. Not doing so counts as discrimination.
Directly making derogatory remarks, withholding work or refusing to promote workers with disabilities is another example of employment disability discrimination. Employers cannot treat anyone working for them unfairly based on their status.
Indirect discrimination occurs when actions are taken passive-aggressively against workers with disabilities. An example is deliberately making the workspace inaccessible to an employee who needs extra space to maneuver.
Harassing an employee who has a disability is another form of discrimination. It doesn’t matter if the person has a visible or invisible disability; any form of harassment and retaliation for making a legitimate complaint is considered employment disability discrimination.