Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Attorney
Fighting Disability Discrimination. Protecting Your Right to Work.
We represent employees throughout Los Angeles and Beverly Hills who have been denied medical accommodations, mistreated because of a disability, or terminated after requesting medical leave. Our disability discrimination attorneys fight to protect your right to work and pursue compensation when your employer violates the law.
California employees enjoy broader protections under state law than under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which also applies. A setback to your health should not impact your ability to succeed at work or give your employer an excuse to deprive you of needed health benefits and income.
What Counts as Disability Discrimination in California?
Employers who refuse to make reasonable adjustments to allow you to continue working, or treat you as less capable because of a disability despite your job performance and commitment, run afoul of California law. Employers may even misrepresent your rights concerning medical accommodations or medical leave to avoid complying with the law.
California prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotions, pay, job assignments, and termination. Your employer also cannot punish you for requesting a reasonable accommodation or reporting disability discrimination.
Who Is Protected Under California Disability Laws?
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects employees with qualifying physical or mental disabilities that limit a major life activity, including working, walking, hearing, and concentrating.
A disability does not have to be permanent or visible. Depression, anxiety disorders, diabetes, cancer, and certain temporary or recurring conditions qualify when they meet the law’s requirements. You are also protected against discrimination based on a history of disability or a perceived disability.
California’s disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation protections generally apply to employers with five or more employees.
What Reasonable Accommodations Are Required for Disabled Employees?
The type of accommodation required depends on your individual needs and the essential duties of your position. Accommodations may include:
- Modified work schedules or remote work.
- Medical leave or extension of medical leave.
- Intermittent leave for treatment.
- Reassignment to an available position.
- Modified equipment, duties, or workplace accessibility.
- Additional breaks or assistance performing job duties.
Your employer is not required to provide your preferred accommodation when another effective option is available. However, it must consider reasonable alternatives rather than simply denying your request.
Your employer can request appropriate medical documentation about your work limitations and need for accommodation, but that does not give it unrestricted access to your medical history.
How Does the Good Faith Interactive Process Work?
Once an employer is aware that you have a temporary or permanent health issue requiring an accommodation, it must engage and communicate with you in good faith to find a reasonable solution. Both you and your employer must participate.
The point of interacting is to find an accommodation that allows you to keep your job and avoid unnecessary termination. Your employer has a continuous obligation to engage in this process. If your current accommodation is no longer workable and must be changed or extended, your employer must continue working with you.
For example, if your doctor restricts heavy lifting, your employer should consider whether equipment can be modified, nonessential duties reassigned, or another available position offered.
Both sides must keep communications open and provide necessary information. Be responsive to reasonable inquiries about workplace limitations that do not infringe on your medical privacy. The interactive process may reveal solutions that neither party envisioned.
An employer intent on obstructing your equal right to work despite having a disability may make only a superficial effort. If your employer refuses to communicate, it will be hard pressed to argue that it had no idea when you were returning to work or what limitations needed accommodation.
Failure to participate in good faith can give rise to a separate legal claim for failure to accommodate or engage in the interactive process. If you believe your employer is obstructing rather than participating, contact us for a confidential consultation.
Keep copies of your accommodation requests, medical work restrictions, HR responses, and disciplinary notices. Ask for important decisions in writing. If your employer is pressuring you to resign or sign a severance agreement, have an attorney review it before signing.
Why Choose Employee Rights Attorney Group to Fight for You?
Losing your job and employer-provided medical benefits at your most vulnerable time is traumatizing. Our practice, Employee Rights Attorney Group, focuses exclusively on employment law and employee rights, including the rights of disabled workers.
We limit our caseload to represent a few individuals at a time so we can remain available, supportive, and provide compassionate representation.
What Is the Time Limit to File a Disability Discrimination Claim in Los Angeles?
We generally encourage employees to pursue claims under California employment disability protection laws because they provide broader protections than federal law.
In most employment discrimination cases, you have three years from the discriminatory act to begin the complaint process with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). After obtaining a right-to-sue notice, you generally have one year to file a lawsuit under FEHA.
These are separate deadlines. We advise that you act quickly. The longer you wait, the harder it may be to preserve necessary evidence.
What Compensation Can You Recover in a Disability Discrimination Case?
The compensation available depends on your individual losses. If you were denied a raise or promotion because of your disability, you may seek the difference in pay. If you were fired, you may also recover lost salary and the value of lost medical or retirement benefits.
Victims often suffer serious emotional harm. Emotional distress damages are available, along with remedies such as reinstatement, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and injunctive relief where permitted by law.
Examples of Disability Discrimination in the California Workplace
Termination Instead of Reasonable Accommodation
A teacher was terminated while on medical leave because her anxiety disorder required her to be off work. If additional medical leave was a reasonable accommodation and did not pose an undue hardship on the employer, the termination may have been illegal.
Discriminatory Treatment Once Employer Learns of Your Condition
After an employer learned that an employee with carpal tunnel syndrome needed surgery and treatment, it denied her a promotion and assigned undesirable duties while treating employees without similar health issues more favorably.
Terminated for Not Being Able to Do Non-Essential Tasks
A cable installer’s back issue prevented him from lifting more than 25 pounds. This task occupied less than 10% of his time. However, the question is whether lifting was an essential function of his job. If he could perform his essential duties with reasonable accommodation, terminating him because of his lifting restriction may give rise to a disability discrimination claim.
Harassed Because of Your Medical Condition
An employer frequently mocked an employee’s hearing impairment, moved her workstation to a loud area, deliberately spoke in a low voice knowing she could not hear, and unjustifiably berated her until she had a nervous breakdown and was taken to a hospital.
Discrimination manifests itself in different ways. Generally, there is some adverse action. Retaliation for reporting disability discrimination or seeking help with your medical condition in the form of an accommodation is a separate violation that gives rise to an additional claim.
Disability Discrimination FAQ
Can Your Employer Fire You While You’re on Medical Leave?
Your employer cannot fire you because you take legally protected medical leave. Eligible employees can receive up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), subject to service and hours-worked requirements. After protected leave expires, your employer must still consider additional leave as a reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship. Medical leave does not prevent termination for an unrelated lawful reason.
How Can I Prove Disability Discrimination in California?
There is no one way to prove disability discrimination. Relevant evidence includes accommodation requests, medical work restrictions, emails, performance reviews, disciplinary records, and how your employer treated employees without comparable disabilities.
For example, positive performance reviews followed by sudden disciplinary action after your employer learns of your medical restrictions can help establish discriminatory treatment.
For more information, see How to Prove Disability Discrimination.
Can I Be Fired for Poor Performance or Missed Work Caused by My Disability?
Your employer can enforce legitimate performance and attendance standards, but cannot deny a reasonable accommodation and then penalize you for problems that accommodation would have prevented. An accommodation request doesn’t automatically erase earlier performance problems or discipline. If your disability affects your work, notify your employer and request the accommodation you need before the problems continue.
Can I Quit and Still Sue for Disability Discrimination?
Yes. Resigning does not automatically prevent you from pursuing disability discrimination claims. If your employer knowingly creates or permits working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign, you may also have a constructive discharge claim. That requires more than ordinary workplace difficulties. Consult an employment attorney before resigning.
Have a Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Attorney Review Your Case
If your employer has denied reasonable accommodations, mistreated you because of a medical condition, or terminated you after requesting medical leave, please contact Employee Rights Attorney Group for a confidential consultation.
We represent employees throughout Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and will discuss your legal options and available remedies.
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Other Services Employee Rights Attorney Group Offers:
- Wrongful Termination
- Sexual Harassment
- Whistleblower
- Retaliation
- Discrimination
- Unpaid Wages
- Severance Agreements
- Breach of Contract
- Unpaid Wages
- Age Discrimination
- Gender Discrimination
- Family Medical Leave Discrimination
- National Origin Discrimination
- Pregnancy / Maternity Discrimination
- Race Discrimination
- Religion Discrimination
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- Failure to accommodate Medical Condition
