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Aug27

Can an employee be demoted for health concerns legally ?

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An employee was recently told he was going to be demoted because the employer is concerned about his health. He had a heart attack at work in 2007. Performance was a secondary topic, saying due to his health he was not performing the same which is a lie.

This is probably a violation of the federal ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA prohibits employers from making employment decisions including hiring, firing and demotion based on an employees disability, or a perceived disability. The key word here is perceived. The employer seems to be afraid that the employee is not healthy (which may be true) and is therefore taking actions against him — which is not legal, as long as the employee is performing up to standards.

This employee would be justified in contacting the federal EEOC, which enforces this law, at www.eeoc.gov.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 at 7:47 am and is filed under
Hiring and Staffing, Human Resources Management.
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