Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Madia Law Represents Employees Who Are Victims of Disability Discrimination
The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and Wisconsin law prohibit discrimination by employers based on disability. If you have work restrictions based on a permanent injury or disability, your employer must make a reasonable effort to accommodate those restrictions to help you perform your job. Reasonable accommodations can include different equipment, new ways of doing the job, job restructuring, or even reassignment. Employers are not allowed to terminate you just because you have work restrictions – they must work with you in an interactive process to try to find a way that you can do your job. If employers fail to do this and instead just terminate you, they may be guilty of disability discrimination.
Representative Cases
“Jill” (name changed for confidentiality) worked at a large corporation for nearly twenty years as a maintenance worker and excelled. However, she injured her back on the job and needed medical attention. Ultimately, her doctor gave her work restrictions stating that she could not lift, push, or pull more than 40 pounds. She continued working at her position, with her restrictions, and continued to excel. One morning, her employer called her into a meeting and told her that she was terminated because her medical restrictions prevented her from performing the essential functions of her position. Jill was devastated – she loved her job and it was her only source of income. Jill’s employer failed to make any effort to find reasonable accommodations for her disability.
We believed that her employer had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and discriminated against Jill based on her disability, given that she was perfectly capable of doing her job, even with restrictions. Jill ended up retaining us and we brought suit against her employer for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Minnesota Human Rights Act. After a year and a half of litigation, the case settled for nearly a half-million dollars. Jill moved on with her life and now enjoys a degree of financial security which she never could have imagined.
In another case, “Michael” was a in-home healthcare worker who was limited in his ability to lift due to a chronic back condition. When Michael was hired for his job in Minnesota, he made his condition and the resulting restriction known to his employer even though it didn’t limit his ability to do his job in any way.
Three years later, Michael’s employer asked him to shovel snow after a heavy snowfall. Michael had never been required to do so before and explained to his employer that he could instead use a snowblower. His employer refused to provide him with a snowblower and then terminated his employment. We obtained a judgment in Michael’s favor that awarded him $32,000 in lost wages and reinstatement to his job.
Please note that every case is different, with its own unique facts. Just because these cases resolved in a particular way does not mean that your case will be the same. You should contact Madia Law to discuss your disability discrimination case in detail and get an accurate assessment of its value.
You May Be Entitled to Lost Wages, Getting Your Old Job Back, Punitive Damages, and Attorney Fees
If you have been the victim of disability discrimination, you may be entitled to back pay and front pay damages, reinstatement to your job, emotional distress compensation, treble damages under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, punitive damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and your attorney fees and costs.
Contact Our Minnesota and Wisconsin Disability Discrimination Lawyers Today
You must act quickly when it comes to filing a claim for disability discrimination. There are tough statutes of limitation that will bar you from filing your claim if you wait too long. Call Madia Law today to discuss your case. All consultations are free.