Disabled individuals, regardless of the trouble they are dealing with, have the right to be treated respectfully in the workplace. Unfortunately, despite the fact that all employers are aware of this, there are often concerns.
Our Indiana readers may be familiar with Arc of Onondaga, an agency in Syracuse, New York, that promotes its advocacy for disabled people. However, the agency itself, despite its mission, has been hit with a workplace disability discrimination lawsuit.
A woman claims that the agency violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by neglecting to accommodate her blindness, primarily related to a decision of the agency to implement a new computer electronic filing system.
She let it be known that the program was not compatible with the software she used to read screens, which was designed for words on the screen to be read to her. She noted, “I tired to muddle through but there were lots of things I could no longer do.” For example, the new program required that she use a mouse, which is not possible because she is unable to see the cursor.
Despite the fact that she brought this issue up to the agency’s CEO, nothing was done. For this reason, she was forced to hire an attorney. This led to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last month, alleging that she received a demotion and a pay cut after she requested a change to accommodate her disability.
Employment law attorneys are trained to deal with cases in which an employee is discriminated against due to a disability.
Source: Syracuse.com, “Blind employee sues Syracuse agency for disabled, claims disability discrimination (video)” John O’Brien, Jan. 25, 2014
