The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act, and the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act provide employees who suffer from disabilities with the right to request reasonable accommodations and /or request medical leaves so long as the request is reasonable and does not result in an undue hardship for the employer. These laws have specific requirements and protections. The most common issues arising under these laws are addressed below:
what massachusetts employers are covered by laws prohibiting disability discrimination?
Nearly all Massachusetts employers are covered by one of three laws that prohibit disability discrimination. Generally, the ADA applies to Massachusetts employers with 15 or more employees. The Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act applies to employers with 6 or more employees. The Massachusetts Equal Rights Act applies to employers with fewer than 6 employees.
What conditions are covered disabilities Under The ADA And Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws?
These laws only protect employees with disabilities. These laws define disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. Major life activities also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
Click here for a helpful guide from Job Accommodation Network explaining what disabilities may be entitled to legal protection.
how do the Americans with Disabilities Act and Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination laws protect disabled employees in massachusetts?
State and federal anti-discrimination laws protect disabled employees in three respects. First, these laws prohibit employers from discriminating against disabled employees because of their disability. An example of this would be an employer demoting or terminating an employee because they had cancer or some other sort of disability. Second, these laws require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees. Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done during the hiring process. Lastly, these laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because they are associated with someone who has a disability. For example, it’s illegal to terminate an employee because you assume he will be distracted at work due to his son’s leukemia.
By far the most common type of disability claims are ones that involve an employer denying an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation. Employers violate the law when they refuse to grant reasonable accommodations.
what is a reasonable accommodation according to massachusetts law?
Disabled employees ask for a wide variety of accommodations due to their disability. These requested accommodations can include changes to schedules, being able to work from home, not having to work overtime, not having to lift over X pounds, and not having to stand for long periods of time. The universe of accommodations employees ask for is nearly limitless.
Click here for examples of accommodations employees may be entitled to.
Employees are not entitled to an accommodation simply by asking for one. Instead, their employer must only provide them with reasonable accommodations. Not all accommodations are reasonable. Some are. But many aren’t. For example, say a UPS driver develops glaucoma and loses his driver’s license. As an accommodation, he asks to be able to continue working as a driver without having to drive. That’s not reasonable because being able to drive is essential to being a driver. On the other hand, it may be reasonable to reassign him to a position that does not require driving, like working in the stock room.
Employers do not have to provide accommodations that pose an undue hardship. When determining whether an accommodation poses an undue hardship, courts consider: (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed; (2) the overall financial resources of the facility making the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed at this facility; the effect on expenses and resources of the facility; (3) the overall financial resources, size, number of employees, and type and location of facilities of the employer (if the facility involved in the reasonable accommodation is part of a larger entity); (4) the type of operations of the employer, including the structure and functions of the workforce, the geographic separateness, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility involved in making the accommodation to the employee; and (5) the impact of the accommodation on the operation of the facility.
is working from home a reasonable accommodation in massachusetts? what about a leave of absence?
In some circumstances, yes, telecommuting and a leave of absence can be reasonable accommodations. As a rule of thumb, leaves of absence are less likely to be reasonable when they are for extended periods of time or for undefined durations. Likewise, telecommuting will be reasonable unless an employer can establish that in-person attendance is essential. For example, someone who bags groceries cannot ask to perform that job from home. He may, however, be asked to be transferred to a different position that he can do from home.
Employment lawyer Benjamin Steffans has diverse experience representing employees across Massachusetts, including advising them on reasonable accommodations and in claims alleging disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. If you still have questions contact us today for a free consultation.
