Disabled people endure discrimination and unequal treatment all of the time. Sometimes this unequal treatment is a violation of the disabled person’s civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. As per the act’s definition of “disabled,” New York residents can seek protection under the act if they have a mental or physical limitation that prevents them from performing a major life activity like seeing, walking, learning and talking.
Here is how disability discrimination commonly shows up:
— On the job: Disabled persons often suffer from discrimination when employers do not hire them because of disabilities even though they are qualified. Employers might also fail to provide reasonable disability accommodations.
— Education: Disabled persons must be provided equal access to programs in addition to reasonable accommodations.
— Housing: Landlords might try to impose different leasing terms or refuse to offer housing to a disabled person.
— Access to businesses and buildings: Disabled persons must be provided reasonable accommodations and equal access to public businesses and buildings.
— Transportation: Transportation companies need to provide reasonable accommodations and equal access and services to disabled passengers. Also, they cannot refuse a customer simply because he or she has a disability.
The majority of laws that protect disabled Americans from discrimination are federal laws. States and municipalities — like counties and cities — also pass laws to protect disabled persons. If you suspect that you have been discriminated against or you are currently being discriminated against in anyway because of your disability, you can reach out to a civil rights lawyer to determine if the law is on your side.
Source: FindLaw, “Disability discrimination basics,” accessed Feb. 03, 2017