Charleston Disability Discrimination Lawyers

Serving Clients in Morgantown, Clarksburg and Parkersburg

Were you fired from your job after requesting accommodation for an injury? Were you denied an accommodation when light duty was available? Do people at your workplace make jokes about your disability?

If you are hurt at work or are applying for a job and have a disability, you have the right to ask your employer for reasonable accommodations so you can carry out your job duties. You should never have to worry that your disability or injury could be grounds for an employer to fire you, not hire you, or not promote you.

Disability discrimination and a failure to accommodate an employee’s disability or injury are job barriers for folks across our state. In West Virginia, while there were 88,696 working-age people with disabilities living in the state in 2018, only 49,199 had jobs, according to the 2018 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium.

You are within your rights to request reasonable accommodations and to a workplace free of discrimination. If your employer fails to accommodate you, retaliates against you, or discriminates against you, it’s time to take action. We can help.

West Virginia Disability Discrimination Lawyers

When it comes to holding employers accountable for disability discrimination in the workplace, our passionate and experienced workplace discrimination lawyers will work hard to protect your rights. The attorneys at Bailess Law Firm hold employers accountable for engaging in disability discrimination, which can include:

• Denying employment based on a perceived or known disability
• Failing to make reasonable accommodations for employees 
• Retaliating against an employee for requesting an accommodation for an injury or disability
• Harassing, making fun of, or joking about an employee’s disability 
• Failing to promote an employee because of their disability or injury 
• Inequitable pay between a disabled employee and other employees 

Protection for West Virginia Employees  

In West Virginia, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHR) protect employees from disability discrimination. 

These laws make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual with a disability. It is also illegal for an employer to treat an individual as having an impairment regardless of whether that individual has a physical or mental impairment. 

Under these laws, an applicant or employee is protected from disability discrimination at any point in the employment process. This also protects employees injured on the job who may need temporary accommodation to return to full duty. An employer cannot discriminate against an employee after they are injured or treat them differently after they are injured or become disabled.

Available Damages In West Virginia

If your employer fails to accommodate your injury or disability, or permits discriminatory behavior because of your disability or injury, you may be entitled to the following damages:

• Lost wages (back pay and front pay)
• Emotional distress/mental anguish
• Loss of dignity, embarrassment, humiliation
• Punitive damages
• Job reinstatement