Legal Question in Discrimination Law in California
Wrongful termination?
After more than 30 years of faithful dedication to her employer, my Mother recieved a letter of termination while on temp disability for vision loss. She was losing her eyesight rapidly due to severe glaucoma and was not responding well to treatments. While only off of work for 1 month, she recieved the Letter of T (from her new boss of 4 months) stating she was not performing her duties as Director. #1, she was losing her eyesight and it was taking twice as long to perform her regular duties. She told her boss that is was difficult as she was making mistakes and taking more time to review her work. And #2, she spent several months training her new boss about the many contracts and programs in the agency. There was lots to learn and my Mother had over 30 years of knowledge. So yes, because of her eyesight and the time it took to train her new boss, it did have an affect on her normal responsibilites. Could she be fired for that? There may have been reason for retaliation on part of the new boss and there was motive to get my Mother out of the way as the new boss was displaying dishonesty, hostility and intimidation among the staff and my Mother had to have 3 different discussions with her new boss about it. She didnt like my mom
5 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Wrongful termination?
She may also have rights under Work Comp Law in San Diego Contacts us.
Re: Wrongful termination?
Hello. I am sorry about your mother's experience.
Indeed, an employer has a duty to engage in interactive process to accommodate disability.
In this case, the issue is whether there is an available accommodation. If your mother is unable to perform her duties with or without accommodation (if, for instance, he eyesight has deteriorated to the degree that prevents her from doing any job) then the employer has not such obligation.
If however, there is or might be an accommodation to her condition, at least at present, you are likely having a strong case for disability discrimination.
Feel free to follow up.
Arkady Itkin
California Employment Lawyer
Sacramento / San Francisco
http://www.sanfranciscoemploymentlawfirm.com
Re: Wrongful termination?
It is a disability discrimination case if you can prove she had a 'disability' that was not 'reasonably accommodated' for her job duties. It could also be argued as an age discrimination case if she can show the termination was related to her age. The circumstantial evidence would sure make both claims appealing to a sympathetic jury. If she is serious about pursuing it, feel free to contact me, I'd be happy to help her.
Re: Wrongful termination?
It is illegal to terminate someone on the basis of age or disability. The letter you mentioned is a good place to start. If you would like us to review the letter and give you a free consultation, feel free to contact us.
Best of Luck!
Re: Wrongful termination?
Sounds like a fairly clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other discrimination laws...
Contact an employment lawyer about a wrongful termination case. Don't wait.
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