Employment Rights of the Disabled

Employment Rights of People with Disabilities

Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. Online Lawyer Referral Service information and a fill-in form is available. Or you may contact the service by phone: The number to call from the Portland area is 503-684-3763 or toll-free from anywhere else in Oregon, 1-800-452-7636.

The following information regarding employment rights of people with disabilities is brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.

An important legal right for people with disabilities is the right to live free from discrimination in employment. Discrimination may take several different forms. Some employers use pre-employment physicals to identify individuals with disabilities and to refuse their job applications. Some employers deny training, promotions and fringe benefits to employees with disabilities. Employees have been downgraded, discharged or harassed when an employer learns of the existence of a disability, or thinks that an employee is disabled.

All of these actions are prohibited by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), covering employers with fifteen or more employees, and by an Oregon law covering employers with six or more employees. Under these laws, it is illegal to discriminate against mentally and physically disabled people. People with mental impairments such as depression are protected just as physically disabled people in wheelchairs are protected. These laws also protect people with a past record of a disability and those people who have no disability but are treated as if they did because of a mistaken belief on the employer's part.

Federal and state law prohibit employers from refusing to hire or promote disabled people and from discriminating against them in working conditions, wages or benefits. Employers are prohibited from asking any job applicants (not just disabled applicants) medical questions or from putting such questions on job applications. If you have an obvious physical or mental impairment or offer information that you have an impairment that could affect your ability to do the job you are applying for, the employer may ask you to explain or demonstrate how you would perform the essential functions of the job. After you accept an offer of employment, the employer may ask medical questions or require a physical exam, and may rescind an offer of employment if you would be unable to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodations. An employer must ask the same questions or require the same medical examination of all applicants for that job category.

For those already employed, federal and state laws require employers to make changes to their workplace or company policies that will enable disabled employees to perform their job in a safe and efficient manner. If you have a physical or mental impairment and believe that a reasonable accommodation would allow you to perform your job better, you should immediately talk to your supervisor. Spend a few minutes before you approach your supervisor and think about which job duties are affected by your impairment, how your impairment is causing you to be limited, and then come up with a few suggestions for accommodation. Reasonable accommodation might mean asking for an ergonomic computer keyboard or wrist pads if you have a wrist problem, or asking to have the office furniture rearranged so you can maneuver your wheelchair around the office. It could also mean asking to have certain office policies relaxed or changed. For example, if you have a mental disability that causes you to get little sleep, you might need to be excused from an office policy that prohibits employees from arriving late to work.

Employers have a duty to workers who are off work because of a job-related injury that results in a compensable Workers Compensation claim. Once an injured worker tells an employer that the worker can return to work, the employer has a duty to reinstate the worker to the previous job or to offer other suitable work if the previous job has been eliminated for a legitimate reason. If the injured worker is unable to perform the previous work, but could perform a modified position, the employer has a duty to reemploy that worker.

Three agencies enforce these laws in Oregon. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Civil Rights Division, enforces the state law and will investigate and resolve complaints of disability discrimination against any covered Oregon employer. The bureau also accepts complaints of violations of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. You can contact the Civil Rights Division in Eugene, Medford, Pendleton, or Portland.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Technical Assistance for Employers Program offers a telephone information line, materials, and seminars to help employers comply with disability and other employment laws. Technical Assistance may be contacted by calling (503) 731-4200, extension 5.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal law, prohibits employers who receive financial assistance from the federal government from discriminating because of a physical or mental disability. You can get information about the enforcement procedures for this law from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by calling 800-669-4000.

The Rehabilitation Act also requires these employers to take affirmative action to hire persons with disabilities and to advance them in employment. The Office of Contract Compliance, an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor, enforces this law. The number is 503- 326-4112.

For more information on the rights of persons with disabilities, contact the Oregon Advocacy Center. The Oregon Advocacy Center is a non-profit corporation formed to protect the rights of persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness and to advocate in their behalf. The Oregon Advocacy Center provides legal and non-legal assistance free of charge to eligible individuals. The number to call is 503-243-2081 or toll-free 800-452-1694.

Persons with disabilities who cannot afford an attorney can also contact the Legal Aid Office in their area. Legal Aid provides some kinds of legal assistance free of charge to individuals within certain income limits. You can contact Legal Aid by calling its office at the number listed in your local telephone directory, or find an office online at www.oregonlawhelp.org.

There are several other topics related to this topic that you may want to listen to in order to gather more information about disability law. If you want to learn more about Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, read the Tel-Law topic entitled ADA – Title I. If you want to learn more about Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers public programs and services, read the Tel-Law entitled ADA – Title II. If you want to learn more about what employers and businesses need to know about the disabled, read the Tel-Law topic entitled What employers and businesses need to know about people with disablilities.

Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law.

This information is from the Oregon State Bar's Tel-law service, a collection of recorded legal information messages prepared by the lawyers of Oregon. In addition to being online, the Tel-law service is accessible by telephone at 503-620-3000 or toll-free in Oregon only, 1-800-452-4776. A touch tone phone allows direct access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To receive a free Tel-law brochure listing the subjects available call 503-620-0222, ext. 0.