Knoxville Disability Discrimination Lawyers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and other laws prohibit disability discrimination in all aspects of employment, such as hiring, firing, pay, promotion, layoffs, benefits, and other aspects of a person’s job. Interestingly, it can even apply to workers who are not disabled or who do not consider themselves as having a disability.

Generally, a disability discrimination claim must have the following parts:

  1. That the employee is either (a) disabled, (b) has a record of being disabled, or (c) is regarded by the employer as having an impairment;
  2. That the employer knew of the disability or the employee’s record of being disabled;
  3. That the employee is qualified for the job, even if he or she needs a reasonable accommodation to perform it;
  4. That the employer took a materially adverse action against the person; and
  5. That the employer would not have taken the action but for the person’s disability, record of being disabled, or the employer’s belief that the person has an impairment.

Depending on the circumstances of your disability discrimination case, your lawyer could tell you about other, or slightly different, factors a court will consider.

Unlike other types of employment discrimination claims, disability discrimination claims are very definition-heavy. Words and phrases such as “disability,” “impairment,” and “reasonable accommodation” have specific legal meaning. The application of these laws to a particular set of facts can be confusing and complicated. If you have questions about disability discrimination in the workplace, call us or another experienced employment lawyer. For more general information, go the EEOC’s website, www.eeoc.gov, which has information about all types of employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment.