In 21st Century America, we all know that it is illegal to discriminate against people because of their race, gender or age. Thanks to the Americans With Disability Act (“ADA”) it is also illegal to discriminate against people because they suffer from a disability.
The ADA does not require companies to hire people for jobs they cannot do. It simply forbids companies from firing or refusing to hire disabled people because of a disability if the disabled person is able to perform the required work (sometimes with reasonable accommodations).
Unfortunately, some employers continue to discriminate against the disabled. For example, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently sued a Wendy’s franchisee in Texas for refusing to hire a hearing-impaired job applicant, even though this job applicant could perform the Wendy’s job duties and had a strong record working at a similar fast-food job.
he Wendy’s General Manager allegedly told the job applicant that he would not be hired because “there is really no place for someone” who cannot hear at the restaurant. However, having perfect hearing is not essential for many Wendy’s jobs, and the job applicant had succeeded in similar jobs with the aid of hearing assistance devices. As a result, the General Manager’s alleged decision not to hire hearing-impaired people violates the ADA.
If you believe that you were wrongly terminated from a job because of disability or other discriminatory reasons, your rights may have been violated. Please contact us to discuss your legal options.