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Some employers are hesitant about hiring people with disabilities.  This can be for many reasons, such as the needs that the person will have during his or her work day that would inconvenience the company (i.e. breaks to take medication, doctor’s appointments, or special wheelchair accessible offices).  While it is not fair to the person with the disability for employers to discriminate against them, it is also highly illegal.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities must be considered as appropriate candidates for jobs if they are physically capable of doing said job and are qualified.  This means that a person in a wheelchair cannot be turned down for a position as an accountant when their qualifications meet those set by the company for which he is applying.  However, if the person applying for a job is not qualified for the position, it is not illegal for the employer to turn them down.

When someone with a disability is hired into a company, they have the right to ask for what is called “reasonable accommodation”.  Reasonable accommodation is essentially the things that the person with the disability needs to do his or her job.  These things can be as complicated as a wheelchair accessible elevator, and it can be as simple as providing a time for a person with a chronic illness to take his or her medication in the afternoons.

The employee must request reasonable accommodation for the employer.  The employer can then accept the request, or can offer another solution.  Usually, this situation is handled by the two parties.  However, when a decision cannot be reached, the employee has a right to raise a lawsuit for disability discrimination against his or her employer.  It is important to remember that in order for the employee to win his or her case, the court must decide that the requested accommodations were reasonable.