New Episode 129: Employment Discrimination and the ADA: Insights from the EEOC

Each month, the 10 ADA Centers receive hundreds of calls and emails asking for disability-related information and guidance on their legal rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many people ask about their employment rights or about an employer’s duty to an employee with a disability.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the EEOC is responsible for enforcement of various employment rights laws. The EEOC handles complaints of employment discrimination that are based on issues such as a person’s disability, age, gender, race, or religion. In this episode, we will focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and employment discrimination against people with disabilities.

Here are a few recent statistics about ADA complaints filed with the EEOC.

  • In Fiscal Year 2023, the EEOC filed 43 disability merit lawsuits, including 6 involving hearing disabilities.
  • The EEOC 2023 Annual Performance Report found that 34% of total filings were disability discrimination lawsuits; 58% of these disability discrimination lawsuits that were resolved involved denials of reasonable accommodation.

Source: 2023 Annual Performance Report
Link: eeoc.gov/2023-annual-performance-report

Guest

Alessandra Rosa

Alessandra Rosa
Lead, Outreach Education Coordinator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Indianapolis District Office

LISTEN


Audio: Episode 129: Employment Discrimination and the ADA: Insights from the EEOC
Web: soundcloud.com/adalive/episode-129

READ

EXPLORE

Featured Organization

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the agency which enforces federal laws, making it illegal to discriminate against the job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy accommodations, national origin, age 40 or older disability or genetic information. Laws that the EEOC enforces also provide that workers can get reasonable accommodations if they need them because of disability, religion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition as long as the accommodation does not cause the employer undue hardship. If you believe something happened to you at work for any of these reasons, you can file a charge of discrimination against your employer. There are several ways to contact EEOC about filing a charge of discrimination online by using the EEOC public portal at publicportal.eeoc.gov. In person at an EEOC office, or a state or local fair employment practice agency, by mail by phone at 1-800-669-4000. For TTY 1-800-669-6820 for ASL video phones 1-844-234-5122 call is free and you do not need a lawyer to contact us.

About ADA Live!

The ADA Live! podcast and resources focus on the rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A new episode airs for 30-45 minutes on the first Wednesday of each month. ADA Live! is produced by the Southeast ADA Center, one of ten regional ADA Centers in the ADA National Network.

No registration is required. You can submit your questions to ADA Live!, explore resources and the ADA Live! schedule plus connect to archived episodes on burtonblatti7.sg-host.com or download podcasts from soundcloud.com/adalive

CHECK OUT MORE Podcasts

Disability Rights Today

The podcast series, Disability Rights Today, is your source for in-depth discussion of the facts, issues and arguments of important court cases that shape the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and that may impact the legal rights and the lives of people with disabilities.  You will hear from the plaintiffs, attorneys, and subject matter experts involved in the highlighted case. The host for “Disability Rights Today” is Dr. Peter Blanck, an American academic, psychologist, and lawyer who holds the titles of University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. The podcast will appeal to disability rights advocates, attorneys, and others wanting to keep current on the latest legal developments involving the ADA. Tune-in at: disabilityrightstoday.org

Let’s Get to Work: Reimagining Disability-Inclusive Employment Policy

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, in collaboration with leading economic and social policy researchers at Rutgers and Harvard Universities, invite you to listen to the podcast series: Let’s Get to Work: Reimagining Disability-Inclusive Employment Policy.

Each episode features guests with unique knowledge and insights sharing their perspective on public policies that are moving the momentum forward and holding progress back. Guests from government and the business and disability communities share their perspectives on ways to translate the latest trends and thinking to advance workforce development and employment policy that produces sustainable economic opportunity for individuals with disabilities. Researchers from the three universities also share what they are learning about employment policies as part of the work of the NIDILRR grant-funded Center on Disability Inclusive Employment Policy. Tune-in at: disabilityinclusiveemployment.org/podcast-series/

The ADA Live! and Disability Rights Today podcasts are a cross-collaboration with the NIDILRR-funded Southeast ADA Center (#90DPAD0005-01-00), the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) of Syracuse University, and the NIDILRR grant-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) –  Disability Inclusive Employment Practices (#90RTEM0006-01-00).

LEARN MORE

About the Southeast ADA Center

The Southeast ADA Center is a leader in providing information, training, and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and disability access tailored to the needs of business, government, and individuals at local, state, and regional levels. It also conducts research to reduce and eliminate barriers to employment and economic self-sufficiency and to increase the civic and social participation of Americans with disabilities. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, we are a project of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) of Syracuse University and one of 10 regional ADA centers in the ADA National Network, funded since 1991 by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Web: adasoutheast.org

About BBI

The Burton Blatt Institute (“BBI”) at Syracuse University reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities. Through program development, research, and public policy guidance, BBI advances the full inclusion of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, NY; Washington, DC; New York City, NY; and Lexington, KY. Web: bbi.syr.edu

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this post were developed by the Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and the ADA National Network, under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant #90DPAD0005-01-00). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this podcast and email do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.