Page 29 - Microsoft Word - Updated Book Draft 2 23 2017 (1)

This can be a confusing area of the law- 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 assumes to be more limiting than it

is. By way of an example, consider an employee who

returns from leave fully cleared to work but the employer

restricts their hours based on an assumption that they

continue to be physically impaired, or terminates them

based on an assumption that they cannot do their job.

Such a step could be actionable as perceived disability

discrimination. This is particularly tricky in the area of

mental health, where the clearance to return to work by a

25| Rules of the Road