Opinion ID: 1382539
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Protected Status under Other State Laws Against Disability Discrimination

Text: Of course, other states have legislation like our Human Rights Act that affords independent state-law protection against disability discrimination. At this juncture, we turn to a brief examination of several cases arising under such state laws that are pertinent to the issues that we are addressing. In Office of Occupational Medicine v. Baltimore Community Relations Commission, 88 Md.App. 420, 594 A.2d 1237 (1991), the court held that a fire fighter job applicant could invoke the jurisdiction of the state law against disability discrimination, when an employer perceived him to have a possible future disability due to a bullet that was lodged in his spine. The applicant was a military veteran who was not actually impaired by the bullet. The court said that the finder of fact could permissibly conclude that the employer had treated the applicant as having a possible future impairment that could impair major life activities, e.g., earning a living. 88 Md.App. at 429, 594 A.2d at 1242. [23] In summary, there is substantial authority in state disability discrimination law for the approach to protected person status that we have seen in our state law and in some federal cases. 4.