New York City Americans With Disabilities Act Lawyer
Fighting Disability Discrimination in Employment for All New Yorkers
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in the employer’s job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Since its passage in 1990, the ADA has helped millions of Americans living with disabilities enter or remain in the workforce by removing physical barriers and instituting strong workplace protections.
Not all employers, unfortunately, are diligent or enthusiastic about following the law. Some unintentionally misapply the law, while others go out of their way to keep from hiring or retaining an employee with a disability, taking deliberate steps to hide their true discriminatory intent. When that happens, the New York City ADA lawyers at Mansell Law fight for workers and ensure they get the full protection of the ADA, enforcing employee rights and holding employers accountable. Call Mansell Law in New York if you’ve been the victim of unlawful disability discrimination.
Which Employees Are Covered Under the ADA?
The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations. The ADA protects a “qualified individual with a disability,” which is someone who can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. A disability is further defined in the law as any of the following:
- A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities
- Having a record or history of a disability
- Being regarded as or perceived as having a disability
Given the above definition, it is not necessary to actually have a disability in order to be covered under the ADA. There are also many components of the above definition which have specific meanings in the law, such as “essential job functions,” “reasonable accommodation,” “substantially limits” and “major life activities.” The ADA discrimination attorneys at Mansell Law can analyze your situation and let you know whether you are protected from disability discrimination under the Act.
What Types of Discrimination Are Prohibited?
As noted earlier, the ADA is comprehensive. It prohibits discrimination in just about every facet of the employment relationship: application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. If an employee is treated adversely or differently than other individuals in any of these areas based on the individual’s disability as defined above, then unlawful discrimination has likely occurred.
Employers might violate the ADA in other ways as well. These include denying an employee’s request to take FMLA leave based on a serious health condition that also qualifies as a disability, refusing to grant reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant, or retaliating against an individual for exercising their rights under the ADA or filing a discrimination complaint.
How Do I File an ADA Discrimination Claim?
As with most other forms of employment discrimination, you can sue your employer for ADA violations after first filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC might pursue a case against the employer themselves, or they may instead issue you a “right to sue letter” so you can file your own lawsuit. Remedies available to you could include reinstatement with back pay, hiring (if you were discriminated against as an applicant), reasonable accommodation, and orders to the employer to stop discriminating against employees. In addition, you can recover money damages for any financial losses you suffered or are likely to suffer, along with money damages for mental anguish and inconvenience. You can have your attorney’s fees paid by the employer, and if their conduct was malicious or recklessly indifferent to your rights, punitive damages might be in order as well. You can also file a complaint with the New York City Human Rights Commission or the New York Division of Human Rights. The ADA attorneys at Mansell Law will guide you through the process and zealously represent your interests before your employer, a government agency, or in court.
Stop Disability Discrimination in New York City. Call Mansell Law Today.
If you feel that your rights under the ADA have been violated, call Mansell Law at 646-921-8900 for a free consultation with a team of dedicated and successful New York disability discrimination employment lawyers.
