Professionals with debilitating medical conditions may need accommodations to work. Some people develop illnesses or injuries during employment that alter their functional capabilities. They may request accommodations that allow them to continue working in the same position.
Employers have an obligation to offer reasonable accommodations if a worker has been with the company for long enough and the business has enough employees for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to apply. Is it legal for an employer to demote a worker in response to an accommodation request?
Reassignment should not be retaliatory
There are many ways for companies to accommodate the medical limitations of individual workers. Providing assistive technology, modifying job responsibilities or reassigning a worker to a position that is less likely to impact their medical condition are all potential accommodations.
Employers can reassign workers to jobs that better suit their current capabilities if other accommodations may not adequately address the situation. However, demoting or transferring a worker as punishment for requesting accommodations is not a legal or appropriate employment practice.
Workers should not face any sort of punishment for acknowledging a medical condition or asking for accommodations to continue their employment with the business. Workers who believe that a demotion or transfer was retaliatory rather than supportive may have grounds to take legal action. They could seek reinstatement to their former position or financial compensation for the impact the discrimination they endured has had on their career.
Reviewing communication with one’s employer, an accommodation request and the details of a demotion can help workers respond effectively. Those who experience disability discrimination may have grounds to file lawsuits against their employers.