Legal Question in Disability Law in Ohio
I work retail, with varying shifts, and recently got an ADA accommodation to only work mornings due to narcolepsy. The day after my accommodation was approved, the store manager informed my boyfriend, who is the assistant manager and makes the schedule, that we are no longer allowed to work the same shifts or have the same days off. I feel like this is retaliation against my ADA request, and that the manager is trying to get me to quit or withdraw my accommodation request. Was this an illegal action?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals from coercion, intimidation, threat, harassment, or interference in their exercise of their own rights or their encouragement of someone else's exercise of rights granted by the ADA. However, employees are not excused from continuing to follow their company's legitimate workplace rules just because they have opposed discrimination. The key question here is whether the employer has a legitimate reason (like non-fraternization) to take the action it did and, if so, whether the reason was mere pretext in order to retaliate. One would have to evaluate what the employer did leading up to the action taken and whether there is sufficient evidence to prove an unlawful act was committed.
I would suggest talking to a local employment lawyer to follow up since these cases tend to be very fact-driven. Good luck!
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