Understanding Your Rights About Disability Discrimination Laws in California

You have a disability that makes it hard to stand for long periods of time, but your boss refuses to provide a chair for you. Or perhaps an employer declined to hire you simply because you’re in a wheelchair. Both of these examples depict disability discrimination.

If you need help understanding your rights about disability discrimination laws in California, this guide is for you. Below, you’ll learn everything you need to know regarding California laws safeguarding against disability discrimination.

California Disability Discrimination Laws Overview

There are two main laws that protect against disability discrimination in California: the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Fair Employment & Housing Act.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA, prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against disabled people who can perform essential job functions, even if they require reasonable accommodations to do so.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the ADA. The EEOC sometimes pursues actions against employers on behalf of disabled employees.

Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA)

FEHA is a California-specific law that protects disabled individuals. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) enforces FEHA.

Under FEHA, employers that have five or more employees cannot discriminate against employees based on:

• Medical conditions
• Physical disabilities
• Mental disabilities
• Genetic information

FEHA vs. ADA

Both FEHA and ADA protect disabled individuals, but these laws have some differences to be aware of. They include:

• ADA limits the damages you can recover in a discrimination claim. FEHA has no restrictions on the amount of damages you can recover.
• FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees. ADA only applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
• FEHA has a broader definition of “disabilities” than ADA does.

The ADA doesn’t prohibit local or state governments from adopting laws that provide greater protections to disabled employees, as FEHA does. Thus, it’s better to pursue a disability discrimination claim under FEHA if possible.

When Can You Hold Your Employer Responsible for Discrimination?

Under FEHA, you can hold an individual or business responsible for disability discrimination if they fall into any of these categories:

• State or local government entities
• Regularly employs five or more employees
• Acts as an agent of a covered employer

To meet the definition of “regularly employs,” an employer must have employed five or more people each day of the week (Monday-Friday) for a period of 20 consecutive weeks over the past two calendar years.

Rights of Individuals Under California Disability Discrimination Laws: Who Is Protected?

FEHA protects both employees and job applicants. It does not, however, cover independent contractors. However, independent contractors are legally protected from disability-related harassment by an employer.

Certain nonprofit employees, as well as employees who are immediate family members of the employer, are not protected under FEHA.

What Disabilities Are Covered?

FEHA protects employees who have a physical/mental disability or a medical condition. You will need to prove your condition or disability to win a disability discrimination claim. To help you with understanding your rights about disability discrimination laws in California, we’ve provided some examples of protected disabilities below.

Physical Disabilities

Examples of covered physical disabilities include:

• Missing limbs
• Cerebral palsy
• Deafness
• Blindness
• Chronic/episodic conditions such as heart disease, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis, and multiple sclerosis

To prove a physical disability, you must show:

• You have a disorder, condition, anatomical loss, physiological disease, or cosmetic disfigurement
• The disability limits a major life activity
• The condition affects a major bodily system (respiratory, speech, musculoskeletal, digestive, etc.)

Mental Disabilities

Covered mental disabilities can include:

• Clinical depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Certain learning disabilities
• Cognitive or intellectual disabilities
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

Medical Conditions

By definition, “medical condition” means a health impairment related to a cancer diagnosis or a genetic characteristic associated with a disease. FEHA protects employees with a medical condition even if they’re not currently experiencing symptoms.

Pregnancy

California law prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant employees, even if they’re not disabled by their pregnancy. If they are disabled by a pregnancy, they’re entitled to reasonable accommodations (unless those accommodations would cause undue hardship for the employer).

Who Can You Sue for Disability Discrimination?

FEHA allows employees to hold employers responsible for the discriminatory actions of their supervisors, managers, or agents (an agent is someone who acts on behalf of the employer). You can also hold individual managers or supervisors liable for harassment.

Typically, you can’t hold co-workers liable for disability discrimination, but you can hold them liable for harassment. You can also hold the employer liable if they knew about the co-worker’s harassment but did nothing to stop it.

Learn More About Your Rights Regarding Disability Discrimination in California

Need more guidance on understanding your rights about disability discrimination laws in California? Speak to a disability discrimination lawyer at Kent Pincin by calling (310) 376-0922 for a free consultation on the legal framework for addressing disability discrimination in California.