Did you know that in 2019 over 11,000 ADA lawsuits were filed? These lawsuits range from lawsuits filed by individuals with disabilities who have visited your establishment to employees with disabilities filing a lawsuit against their employers.

If you are an employer facing an ADA lawsuit or want to avoid one, keep reading.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Employers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. ADA also states that as an employer, you cannot discriminate against individuals with disabilities.

When hiring and working with employees, it is essential to understand ADA and your responsibility as an employer. Understanding your responsibility will help you as an employer make sure that your ADA compliance is on point.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Lawsuit Litigation

If you are facing an ADA lawsuit as an employer, it may affect the reputation of your business or brand. When you get the notice that you are being sued, there are a few things that you should do.

The First Step is to Prevent ADA Lawsuits – Hire Experts

As an employer, it is always important to know what is required of you to be considered an ADA compliant workplace. By understanding your responsibility, you can ultimately prevent an ADA lawsuit. As an employer, you will have a lot of work on your plate, that is why most employers will hire ADA Accommodation experts to guide them into ADA compliance.

ADA lawsuit? Consult Your Lawyer

If you are already facing an ADA lawsuit, consult your lawyer or hire one. A lawyer will have access to ADA Accommodation experts. A team of experts can help walk you through the process of ADA litigation.

Read on to learn more about the process of handling an ADA Lawsuit from workers.

Understand What is Happening

When you are facing an ADA lawsuit, your employee needs to prove that you discriminated against them.

When going to court, your employee will need to prove that they do, in fact, have a disability. They will also need to prove that because of their disability, they did not get full and equal treatment.

Documentation

As an employer, it is wise to keep documentation of any accommodations that your employee asked for to perform their job. You also want to document how you responded and why.

If your employee is claiming that you did not provide them the reasonable accommodations that they needed to perform their job, and therefore they were fired, you will want documentation. This documentation should include any accommodations requested.

It should also include any documentation on what was provided and the reasons for the denial if they were denied an “undue hardship,” why they were considered a hardship.

If you did not hire an applicant with a disability in the hiring process, you would want to show that there was a more qualified candidate. Keeping impeccable records will help you be able to address any issues that may come up.

Settling Out of Court

Legal battles can become expensive very quickly. Often negotiation or mediation is going to be the better choice on how to settle these matters.

Sometimes things come down to misunderstandings. Sitting down and talking about what happened can often clear up the misunderstanding.

As long as things can get settled so that no one gets deprived of their legal results, settling a case this way can be less expensive, quieter, and faster.

Stay Proactive to Better Navigate and Prevent ADA Lawsuits

As an employer, it is always important to know what is required of you by ADA to be considered ADA Compliant. By understanding your responsibility and consulting with an ADA Accommodations Expert, you can ultimately prevent an ADA lawsuit.

Do you want to understand more about ADA in the workplace? Work with our ADA Accommodations experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. to make sure you stay ADA compliant. An ADA Accommodations specialist is the best person for the job when it comes to accommodating employees and keeping a business compliant with ADA regulations.

At Solutions Northwest Inc., we can help you find ADA Accommodations experts, a vocational expert or give you general consulting. Our vocational experts are involved in personal injury, workers’ compensation, and family law.

If you need our guidance, our legal experts are ready to guide you through the process.

Contact us today to make an appointment.

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