REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION RIGHTS LAWYER

Do you have a disability that effects your work in some way?  Could an accommodation help you perform you work even with your disability?  Has your employer refused to provide you a reasonable accommodation after you ask for one, or have you been viewed in a negative light because you suggested that you need an accommodation due to your disability?  If so, then you might need the help of a reasonable accommodation rights lawyer.   

You have the right to a reasonable accommodation in most circumstances.

Disability protections are very broad, and in most circumstances you are entitled to a reasonable accommodation to help you do you job.  If you employer refused to allow one, or if they fire you, then that constitutes disability discrimination under the law, and you should seek the advice of reasonable accommodation rights lawyer. 

What is a reasonable accommodation?

A reasonable accommodation is a highly defined term under law, but in common sense terms it means something that can help you do your job better, and is reasonably necessary due to your disability.  

The long legal definition under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in the term “reasonable accommodation” may include (A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and (B) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.  42 U.S.C. § 12111 (9).

Additionally, the term reasonable accommodation is also defined under the Connecticut Fair Employment Practice Act (CFEPA). “Reasonable accommodation” means, but is not limited to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring, light duty assignments, modified work schedules, temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast milk.  C.G.S. § 46a-60(a)(2).

Am I entitled to a reasonable accommodation?

The short answer is yes you are.  Of course, the accommodation must be a reasonable one that does not create an undue hardship on your employer.

How do I request a reasonable accommodation?

There is no single way to request a reasonable accommodation.  In making a request we suggest you should provide a clear written request setting forth that you request a reasonable accommodation, and why.  Next, you should also supply your medical documentation to support the need for the accommodation. 

What is an undue hardship?

An undue hardship exists if the potential reasonable accommodation that you request will cause unreasonable hardship on your employer taking into all relevant circumstances.  Both the ADA and CFEPA contain a list of factors to consider, but the list not exhaustive.  

The factors that are relevant to determine whether an undue hardship exists include:

1. the nature and cost of the accommodation;
2. the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation;
3. the number of persons employed at such facility, and the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the facility;
4. the overall financial resources of the covered entity; and 
5. the overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees.

What is the interactive process?

After you request what you believe to be a reasonable accommodation, you employer can grant your request, or engage in an interactive process with you to determine whether you request can be granted. Your employer cannot simply deny your request without engaging in a good faith evaluation of your request, and whether the request imposes an undue hardship in the company.  

The general rule requires a reasonable accommodation unless the employer can show an undue hardship. 

The general rule that the employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation for a disability unless the employer can show that the proposed reasonable accommodation will impose an undue hardship.   Under both the Connecticut Fair Practices Act (CFEPA), and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation constitutes disability discrimination.

Under CFEPA it shall be a discriminatory practice for an employer, by the employer or the employer’s agent, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual’s race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a veteran or status as a victim of domestic violence.  C.G.S. § 46a-60(b)(1).

Under the ADA no employer shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.  As used in subsection . . . the term “discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability” includes not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such covered entity.  42 U.S.C. § 12112.

What law applies to my case?  

Your protections come from both state law, and federal law.  The Connecticut law is called the Connecticut Fair Employment Practice Act (CFEPA), General Statute 46a-60, and the federal law is called the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12102 et al.  Both rules says basically the same thing although they are not identical.  For example, the ADA statutory language specifically refers to the requirement that an employer provide a reasonable accommodation, but the CFEPA does not.  Instead, the reasonable accommodation required under CFEPA comes through caselaw when the Connecticut Supreme Court interpreted into CFEPA the reasonable accommodation rule based on the ADA.  Curry v. Allan S. Goodman, Inc., 286 Conn. 390, 415, 944 A.2d 925 (2008).  In effect, both laws provide that the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation giving the litigant the option to enforce their rights under CFEPA, the ADA, or both. 

For purposes of receiving a reasonable accommodation, what constitutes a disability?

While the term disability is very broadly defined, not everything amounts to a disability.  The clearest description of what constitues a disability is an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.  

Under the ADA the term “disability” means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.  Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.  Furthermore, major life activities also includes the operation of one or more of the major bodily functions, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. Being regarded as having such an impairment is an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.  42 U.S.C. § 12102. 

Under CFEPA there a three relevant definitions.  Physically disabled” refers to any individual who has any chronic physical handicap, infirmity or impairment, whether congenital or resulting from bodily injury, organic processes or changes or from illness, including, but not limited to, epilepsy, deafness or being hard of hearing or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device. C.G.S. § 46a-51(15).

Learning disability refers to an individual who exhibits a severe discrepancy between educational performance and measured intellectual ability and who exhibits a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in a diminished ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations. C.G.S. § 46a-51(19).

Mental disability refers to an individual who has a record of, or is regarded as having one or more mental disorders, as defined in the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. C.G.S. § 46a-51(20).

What if my request for a reasonable accommodation is denied?

If your request for a reasonable accommodation is denied, then your employer might have violated your rights, and you should consult with an experienced accommodation rights lawyer.

How can your reasonable accommodation lawyer help you?  Where is the first place to file a claim?  

The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) is an administrative agency that helps to protect against disability discrimination.  They can enforce state law, or federal law in many instances.  You must file a claim with the CHRO before you are permitted to bring a lawsuit in Court.  This claim is the first step.  You must exhaust your administrative remedies before you can sue in Superior Court.  

You have the right to sue in Connecticut Superior Court.

Many cases do not get fully resolved by the CHRO.   When the CHRO administrative claim in concluded, you can file your lawsuit in the Connecticut Superior Court, or perhaps federal court.  

What are your remedies in a disability discrimination case?

In a Connecticut lawsuit, you can sue in Court for:

1. Lost past wages or back pay;
2. Lost future wages or front pay;
3. Reinstatement of your position;
4. An order for a reasonable accommodation;
5. Attorneys’ fees, and the cost of litigation;
6. Emotional distress or other non-economic damages;
7. Punitive damages.

WHERE TO FIND HELP.

Contact the Connecticut employment lawyers at The Bartinik Law Firm LLC.  If you have been fired in retaliation for exercising your rights, discriminated against due to a disability, or denied a reasonable accommodation we can help you.  We handle cases throughout Connecticut in state Court, and federal Court, and also Rhode Island, and Florida.  Call us at 860-445-8521 for a consultation.