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Discriminating

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I have a work related injury that prevented me from doing a specific type of job. A job was created for me and I have been doing that job since 2001. There is a new manager and he knew about my limitations but made me do another type of job or go home. I got rehurt and the HR person sent me home because she said that they did not have anything for me at this time and would not let me do my light duty job that was created for me. All the doctors say that I can go back to work on my job only but she still refuses. I am not even recieving Workers Comp. The plant made it look like I was not hurt by what they made me do. I am fighting the Workers Comp now. Are they disciminating against me? This new supervisor also verbally harrassed me all the time. Do I have a case? I loved my job and was good at it. Since I have been sent home they have people that have worst restrictions than me on my job,does that make sense? People that do not even understand my job. Thanks Robin

This might very well be discrimination based on a disability, under

ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The ADA is enforced by the EEOC,

the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This is the same federal agency that enforces laws prohibiting illegal discrimination based on race, color, national ancestry, age (over 40), pregnancy, and sex. Contact the EEOC at 800-669-4000.Most of us think of a “disabled” person as being in a wheelchair. But, the law covers a wide variety of situations from carpal tunnel syndrome, to limited range of motion, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Any physical condition that restricts one or more normal life activities is probably a disability.

The ADA requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for workers who are disabled, regardless of the reason for the disability. In some cases, courts have ruled that giving workers a “light duty” assignment, or changing some of the minor duties associated with a job, are “reasonable accommodations.”

Normally, totally changing the major job duties is not a “reasonable accommodation.” However, assigning a worker with a disability to a different job, is usually a “reasonable accommodation.” Other reasonable accommodations can include providing special equipment like a headset, or changing the hours that an employee works.

It’s going to be hard for the employer to claim that giving you a light duty assignment is an “undue hardship” for the company, since they have been doing so for more than 6 years.

Under ADA, you as an employee must request the accommodation for your disability – the employer isn’t required to offer it to you. It sounds like you have made this request repeatedly.

It is also illegal for a manager (or coworkers) to verbally harass a worker based on his or her disability. If the manager doesn’t treat workers without disabilities the same way, that’s probably illegal discrimination.

The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, regardless of the cause of the disability. So, your current condition doesn’t have to be a Workers’ Comp claim, in order for the employer to accommodate you.

Workers’Comp is a separate issue from accommodation under ADA. Most states have a Workers’ Comp office or Ombudsman that handles appeals, when a worker feels their claim has not been handled properly.