Page 3 - White Paper- Illness and Disability

purchase of special chairs for desk workers with back problems, assistive

technologies for employees with vision or hearing problems, or adjustments in

work schedules, and sometimes transfers to other jobs within the company.

Perceived Disability Discrimination

What many people do not know is that the law also prohibits discrimination

based on “perceived disability.” This can be confusing- what it means in its most

simplistic terms is that if an employer takes action (discipline, termination,

unfavorable re-assignment) based on a belief that the employee has a disability,

they may be subject to a lawsuit. Usually this starts with some actual injury or

condition, which the employer or manager believes or assumes to be more limiting

than it is.

The Family and Medical Leave Act

Under federal law (FMLA), if an employer has 50 or more employees and

the individual has worked at least 1250 hours over the past 12 months, the Family

Medical Leave Act requires that the employer provide job-protected leave for 12

weeks for the employee’s medical condition or that of his or her immediate family

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