Disability Discrimination Based on a Heart Condition

Heart conditions and cardiovascular diseases are common around the country and may be affected by high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. After suffering a heart attack or stroke, a worker may need accommodations to recuperate or to continue to work. Some workers, unfortunately, may suffer from disability discrimination based on a heart condition. The Los Angeles disability discrimination lawyers at The Nourmand Law Firm, APC, can provide aggressive and knowledgeable representation for employees who face this type of conduct.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the federal law that prohibits disability discrimination. It defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially restricts a major life activity. A private employer is covered by the ADA if it has at least 15 employees. These employees are protected by the ADA if they have a disability as defined by the ADA and are qualified for the job, meaning that they satisfy job-related requirements and are able to perform the essential job duties with or without reasonable accommodation. There is no listing of conditions that qualify as a disability under federal law. However, if your heart condition substantially restricts a major life activity, such as the functioning of your circulatory system, you are covered.

Many employees in California are also protected under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Under FEHA, disabilities are any impairments that make it difficult for you to perform a major life activity. FEHA also guards against discrimination on the basis of your need to care for someone else with a disabling heart condition or for your own medical condition.

You are also entitled to a reasonable accommodation unless providing reasonable accommodation would cause your employer undue hardship. Reasonable accommodations are any changes to a job or workplace that allow you to do your job in spite of your disability or finite period of time to recuperate.

What constitutes a reasonable accommodation for a heart condition depends on the individual worker involved. The employer and you would need to engage in an interactive, good-faith discussion of the accommodations that would help you do your job. For example, you might need to refrain from stressful activities so that you can alleviate heart strain. Or, you might need time off to go to medical appointments or to recuperate or receive treatment, or you might need a more flexible schedule.

Even when certain job duties are an integral part of your work, you may be able to get accommodations to make those duties easier to perform. For example, if you have a lifting restriction for items that weigh more due to your heart, and lifting things is one of many tasks that you have, you might be able to get special lifting equipment to perform those tasks.

In order to show that you have suffered from disability discrimination based on a heart condition, you will need to prove that:

• You are disabled, are regarded as disabled, or have a history of being disabled by the heart condition.
• The disability gives you physical limitations.
• You can still perform the key functions of the job, whether or not you have a reasonable accommodation.
• The employer took an adverse action against you because of your heart condition.

The adverse action may include failing to provide a reasonable accommodation or termination of employment.

If you have faced disability discrimination based on a heart condition, The Nourmand Law Firm, APC, may be able to represent you in a lawsuit to pursue damages. Our Los Angeles lawyers strive to provide aggressive legal representation to workers who have been harmed in Perris, Victorville, Ontario, Moreno Valley, Vernon, Beverly Hills, Van Nuys, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, and other cities in San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties. Call us at 323-895-7800 or contact us through our online form for a free appointment with a wrongful termination lawyer or assistance with another type of employment claim.