4 Examples of Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Learn about four common examples of disability discrimination in the workplace and how they impact employees’ rights, inclusion, and equal opportunities on the job.

When you go to work every day, you deserve to be treated equally by everybody in the office. Your employer has a duty of care to look after you as much as he would look after anybody else who works for them. So if you are working with a disability then you have the right to do that without being discriminated against. It’s not always easy to understand discrimination because you may not have come across it before, but we’ve put together a list of examples of disability discrimination in the workplace that you should be aware of because you deserve to be treated better.

Workplace Disability Discrimination

You are fired. 

People get fired every single day for various reasons, but if you’ve been fired as a result of your disability, then you may have a case with San Diego Disability Law Group. Employers must not make any decisions related to your job with your disability in mind. That’s a violation of the law, and if that happens to you, then you do owe it to yourself to take action or at least talk to a lawyer. You need to make sure that any employer that treats you differently because of a disability that you have is made an example of.

You’ve had a negative verbal reference.

Employers who give you a reference are not allowed to give you a reference that is negative based on your disability. If your disability has led to you being unable to complete a task at work, that still doesn’t mean they can give you a negative reference. The need to work from home for example, if it’s due to a disability, they have to make sure that you are accommodated. If you are not accommodated then your employer can be seen as being discriminatory.

You’ve had a job offer withdrawn.

You’ve gone through an extensive interview process. You’ve waited around to hear about your dream job with bated breath, only to find out that the moment you disclosed your disability, they have now withdrawn the job offer and given a rubbish excuse for the reason behind it. You should not be discriminated against even during the interview process, and you may have a case against that particular employer because it means that they are not living up to the law. If you have gone through the interview process and you’ve been offered a job, it shows that you can do the job that you’ve been offered regardless of any disabilities you may have. Therefore withdrawing a job after hearing about a disability of yours means that they are discriminating against you.

The employer does not accommodate you.

Failure to accommodate your disability is one of the most common violations that employers are guilty of. It can be anything from installing a wheelchair ramp to introducing screen magnification for you if you have a visible impairment. Speech-to-text dictation software for those suffering from arthritis or dyslexia, for example, is just standard. If your employer has refused to accommodate your disability, then you may have a case.