Human Resource Blog

Rehabilitation Act in Colorado

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Are we covered by the Rehabilitation Act in Colorado?

The Rehabilitation Act covers companies in all states across the country, including many companies and organizations in the state of Colorado. However, companies need to meet one of the following criteria in order to be eligible for coverage under the Act:

·         Be a federal government office or an agency of the federal government

·         Be a federal contractor

·         Be a local or state agency or office that receives funds from the federal government

·         Be an educational institution that receives federal funds

The Act is basically in place in order to ensure that when a disabled person applies for a job with a covered organization or is already employed by the entity, the employer cannot discriminate against him or her based on a disability that the individual might have. Covered disabilities include both physical and mental disabilities. An example of a mental disability that may be covered could be depression.

Employers may not discriminate against employees that are disabled based on that disability at any time during pre-employment processes or employment. For example, the employer could not take the disability into account during the hiring, promotion, training, or termination of an employee. The Act requires that employers regard the disabled worker the same way as it regards all workers within the company.

Some companies and agencies will need to meet specific affirmative action requirements when it comes to hiring and employing workers. For example, federal contractors that have contracts valued at least $10,000 must take affirmative action to hire workers with disabilities. Federal departments and agencies as well as federal contractors that have at least 50 employees and contracts worth at least $50,000 must have a written affirmative action plan in place at work.

Employers must also make every effort to make reasonable accommodations for employees that have disabilities. CB