Developing a disability can come as a considerable shock to some New York residents, especially if their lives change considerably because of it. Still, many individuals in this type of situation want to continue living their lives to the best of their abilities, and that desire may include holding a job. If employers react negatively to a person’s disability and do not provide proper accommodation, those behaviors could constitute employment discrimination.
A recent report stated that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former Walmart employee. While working as a sales associate, the woman developed a disability. Information pertaining to the disability and how it came about was not given in the report. Nonetheless, the woman was no longer able to work in her sales position, but she still wanted to remain employed.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must accommodate the needs of disabled employees. Among these required accommodations is reassignment to a new position when a disabled worker can no longer perform his or her old duties. Walmart employees involved in this case failed to search area stores in order to find an open position that the woman could fill. By only searching within the woman’s store of employment, no position was found, and the woman lost her job despite an opening at another store.
When employers do not make the full effort to accommodate workers with disabilities, they could be carrying out acts of employment discrimination. New York workers who feel that their rights were violated and who lost their jobs or faced other negative outcomes as a result of unfair treatment may wonder what they could do about their situations. Fortunately, individuals do have legal options that could help them seek justice.
Source: nhregister.com, “EEOC sues Walmart for discrimination against Maine worker”, April 27, 2018
