Legal Question in Disability Law in Kansas
Disability discrimination
I have a severe hearing disability. During a meeting in my workplace I was called upon to answer a question by the supervisor in charge. When I responded that my hearing aid was not functioning properly and I could not hear his question, and could he please repeat his question, he launched into a pantomime poking fun at my disability by laughing and pretending to speak to me by moving his lips and not saying anything; non-verbal gibberish, if you will. He seemed to think this was very amusing.
There were quite a few folks present during this meeting. I felt like a fool!
Question: is such conduct allowed?? Is this 'discrimination'?? Do I have any recourse to this incident?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Disability discrimination
You dont have to tolerate this type of behavior and you should complain in writing to the human resources dept and the supervisor. this type of conduct is prohibited under the ADA.
While I strongly suspect that he had no idea that you were hearing impaired, he should be made aware of this, and you should tell him how humiliated you felt and ask for any apology. You follow all of your actions with a written confirmation of the requests, etc., . Look at your companys harrassment policy. Remember that the persons intentions do not matter in a harrassment case. However, the "hostile environmetn" generally requires more that a mere isolated incident.
While this thoughless behavior is certainly unacceptable, a single incident, unless intentioanl and knowing, is probably not actionable. If you are afraid of retaliation for any complaints you might make, you should file a charge of discrimianto with the local EEOC in order to protect yourself from possible retaliation. this is your judgement call. While I am a management defense attorney, I can tell you that typically misunderstanding occur and reasonable persons should be able to work them out. This does not always happen. I do not recommend needlessly creating an adversary situation unless you must to protect yourself. IF you escalate the matter, you will inevitably create a more streesful work environment, however justified you are. The conduct was inexcusable, but people make stupid mistakes. Use your common sense in problem resolution. If this type of conduct were to continue, after the superviosr became aware of your condition, then I would give you points for becoming more aggressive. Iwish you the best of luck.