AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

The Federal government prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap.  The Workers’ Compensation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) work together to keep you from being fired while you are on Temporary Total Disability (TTD) and then to put you back to work once your TTD period ends.  There are two main relationships between the ADA and Workers’ Compensation.

First, the ADA makes it illegal for an employer to ask on a job application or in an interview if you have ever been injured, filed a Workers’ Compensation claim or have a disability.

However, an employer may ask if you can perform specific tasks which are related to the job which you are seeking, such as, “Can you lift 50 pounds?”  But they cannot ask if you have been injured or have a disability.  An employer cannot have you take a pre-employment physical until after you have been offered a job.

Second, the ADA may require your employer to put you as an injured worker back on the job.  If, as a result of your job-related injury, you have a significant disability and cannot go back to your old job, the employer generally is required to attempt to find you another job within the company, if there is a vacancy, or modify your old job to fit your limitations.

The ADA also requires employers to make “reasonable accommodation” if you have a significant disability.  In other words, the employer may be required to restructure jobs, modify work schedules, reassign to vacant positions or make other changes to job duties so that you will be able to perform the job.

Any claim of a violation of the ADA should be filed with the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission within 180 days of the violation.  You should contact an attorney to make sure that you take the proper steps to enforce your rights.

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