As your Disability discrimination Lawyers Washington, D.C. clients can depend on as Eric Siegel Law may tell you, employers are prohibited from treating applicants or employees adversely because of their disabilities. Federal law necessitates that reasonable accommodations be offered to those who need it, so an employee can perform their job tasks. But, despite these laws, many workers still endure unfair treatment because of a disability. The discrimination may be obvious or subtle, so if you are not sure whether discrimination has happened to you, we recommend contacting us for help right away.
We understand it can be intimidating to consult with a lawyer about a potential lawsuit, especially if you enjoy your job and don’t want to cause further tensions. However, it is imperative that you put your rights first and hold people accountable for unfair actions against others.
Harassment can take on many forms, and the intention is often to make the employee with a disability feel offended or embarrassed. By not protecting a disabled employee from such treatment, an employer may be held responsible through legal action. Based on the law, disabled workers are safeguarded from harassment by their bosses, customers, and co-workers. It is the role of an employer to see to it that their workplace doesn’t turn into a hostile working environment. If you have experienced any of the following because of your disability, we urge you to contact a discrimination lawyer Washington, D.C. residents can rely on immediately:
A disability does not mean that an employee doesn’t want to work hard towards promotional opportunities and raises within the company. Employers must foster a strong work ethic in every employee, regardless of a disability or not. If your employer refuses to give you a deserved promotion or wage increase because of your disability, they are breaking the law, and intervention from a qualified attorney is often needed. If you believe you may have a discrimination case, we can perform a case assessment and inform you of your options.
Every person deserves to be treated fairly, no matter their disability or other characteristic. Employers may be committing workplace discrimination knowingly, or unknowingly. Sometimes people operate from a subconscious place, where they don’t realize what they are doing. You can trust that we can bring the issue to your employer’s awareness and ensure that you are given the compensation and justice you deserve for the mistreatment. For more information about how we can help, please call Eric Siegel Law today for help from our dedicated Washington, DC Disability discrimination Lawyers.
As people spend more and more time on social media, it becomes easier to track their lives and get a rough understanding of who they are. Companies know this, and social media sites sell data about each and every one of us to these companies. Social media is increasingly used as an advertising tool — potential customers can be pinpointed for various products, and advertisements for those products pop up on just about every website that person navigates to.
Just as companies are using data found on social media to sell products, employers are turning to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms to make employment decisions. However, as disability discrimination lawyers in Washington, D.C. know, this practice can be extremely risky for the employer should they accidentally make an employment decision based on a protected characteristic of their employee or job applicant.
More than 70 percent of American adults use Facebook, according to national research, and that percentage point is higher for middle-aged and young adults. An employer can quickly gather information about an applicant using their Facebook accounts, such as their political affiliation, favorite genre of movies and books, hobbies, and other interests. An employer could potentially use Facebook for more sinister purposes, such as figuring out the applicant’s age, gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, pregnancy status, marital status, and country of origin. If it is found out that an employer based their decision to not hire the applicant on any of those protected personal characteristics, Washington, D.C. disability discrimination lawyers know the applicant could sue.
National surveys show that the majority of people believe that it is not okay to be Facebook friends with one’s boss, most people do believe that it is perfectly fine to be Facebook friends with other colleagues. This should give an employer an idea about how their employees feel about their social media being used to make employment decisions — that they do not think it is appropriate.
However, just because it is something they should not do, the fact is employers do use social media to fire, demote, or promote someone. Unless an employee’s behavior displayed on social media is illegal, unethical or immoral, is considered hate speech, or is hurting an employer’s business, the employer should not use social media information to make an employment decision. Doing so could open them up for a discrimination lawsuit if the employee’s protected characteristics came into play.
Employers stand a lot to lose, and not a lot to gain by using social media for making employment decisions. If you have questions about an action that your employer has taken against you based on your social media or feel you have been a victim of employment discrimination, contact the skilled Washington, D.C. disability discrimination lawyers of Eric Siegel Law today for legal guidance.
“Attorney Siegel was very responsive and thorough in his analysis of the issues which was presented. I liked his calm and professional demeanor. I would definitely recommend him to anyone seeking competent legal advice.”
Mackenzie M.
