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Employment Rights of Individuals with Disability

Individuals with disability have the right to participate in the employment process and to protect these rights; the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 were created.

Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

FEHA is the law in California that deals with the rights of persons with disabilities and the employers' obligations. It gives protection from discrimination or harassment in employment and rules out discrimination in every aspect of housing because of an individual's disability.

FEHA gives protection from discrimination or harassment in employment because of:

• Ancestry


• Creed


• Age (40 and over)


• Disability (physical and mental) including AIDS and HIV


• Denial of medical and family care leave


• National origin


• Marital status


• Race


• Sex


• Religion


• Sexual orientation


• Medical condition (genetic characteristics and cancer)


• Color

The definition of disability in California goes beyond the federal definition.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Title I of the ADA is the Federal law addresses the rights of individuals with disabilities. It makes employment discrimination illegal against a qualified person with disability. It also prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in local and State government services, telecommunications, transportation, and public accommodations.

Title I requires employers who have 15 or more employees to give individuals with disabilities who are qualified an equal opportunity that is related to employment that are available to others.

Employers that are covered by the ADA:

• State and local governments


• Labor organizations


• Private employers


• Labor-management committees


• Employment agencies

Who are protected by the ADA?

ADA protects qualified individuals from job discrimination based on their disability. Those that ADA considers as individuals with disability are persons who have a mental or physical impairment that significantly limits a major life activity such as the following:

• Seeing


• Breathing


• Hearing


• Speaking


• Caring for oneself


• Performing manual tasks


• Learning or working


• Walking

If a person has a disability, to be protected by the ADA from job discrimination, one must also be qualified to do the duties of a job or the essential functions, whether reasonable accommodation is available or not. This means two things:

1. An individual must meet the requirements of the employer for the job (such as employment experience, education, licenses, or skills)


2. An individual must be able to do the duties of the job or the essential functions, with or without the help of a reasonable accommodation.

Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation is any adjustment to a work environment that allows a qualified employee or applicant with a disability to do the following:

• Perform the fundamental duties or essential functions of a job


• Participate in the process of job application


• Enjoy privileges and benefits of employment equal to those employees who do not have disabilities

Reasonable accommodation may include the following:

• Reassignment to an available position


• Making the workplace easily usable by and accessible to individuals with disabilities


• Modifying or providing devices or equipment


• Providing interpreters and readers


• Restructuring of the job


• Modifying or adjusting training materials, examinations, or policies


• Modified or part-time work schedules

Any qualified individual has a right to employment, even if he/she has a disability. It should not be a basis of any form of discrimination or harassment. These laws were created to protect these rights and for justice to prevail.

San Fernando Valley - (Satellite Office)

5850 Canoga Ave., Suite 400
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
1-818-401-4747
info@mesriani.com