Even disabled persons can have a productive career and no one has a right to discriminate them at workplaces. Except the healthcare professional who consults the disabled employee, no other person in an organization can decide the job that the person can hold. Many laws are there which protect the workplace rights of disabled Americans. Some of the laws that come under this category according to the United States Department of Labor are given here.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
This federal Act helps to remove the barriers for disabled individuals at workplaces. Equal access to employment opportunities is ensured by the Act.
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
It ensures a safe work environment preventing any hazards, deaths or injuries. It maintains safety of any business which is likely to create disability of an individual.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
According to FMLA, employees can be given a job-protected leave for certain medical and family reasons up to a period of 12 weeks. Only those employees are eligible who worked for the employer for at least one year, and for 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. The other requirement or eligibility is that the company should employ at least 50 people within a 75-mile radius. According to ADA, disabled individuals are protected and according to FMLA employees with serious health conditions are protected.
Worker’s Compensation Laws
Worker’s compensation laws are different for different states. Employees who are injured or disabled are allowed to return for work according to the regulations of the state worker’s compensation laws in combination with rules of ADA, OSHA, and FMLA.
It is because of these laws that disability discrimination is avoided in the United States.