This is Tel-Law topic 700, Employment Rights of the Disabled , brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is general legal information intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions. An important legal right for people with disabilities is the right to live free from discrimination in employment. Discrimination may take several different forms. Some employers use pre-employment physicals to identify individuals with disabilities and to refuse their job applications.
Some employers deny training, promotions and fringe benefits to employees with disabilities.
Employees have been downgraded, discharged or harassed when an employer learns of the existence of a disability, or thinks that an employee is disabled. Under these laws, both the mentally and physically impaired are considered disabled and cannot be discriminated against. In other words, people with mental impairments such as depression are protected just like people in wheelchairs are protected. These laws also protect those people who have a past record or history of a disability and those people who have no disability but are treated differently because of a mistaken belief on the employer's part. Federal and state laws require employers to make changes to their office environment or company policies that will enable disabled employees to perform their job in a safe and efficient manner.