Federal & State Laws Protect NJ Workers Living with Chronic Illness

Workers with chronic illnesses often face distinct challenges in the workplace. Conditions such as diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, and mental health struggles can impact an employee’s capacity to perform daily job functions. However, many individuals with chronic conditions can thrive in their jobs when they receive appropriate support from their employers. Unfortunately, employers’ perceptions of chronic illness can lead them to discriminate against applicants and employees living with chronic conditions. Because of this, it’s important for workers to understand how state and federal laws protect them from discrimination based on their health conditions.

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)[1] and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)[2] protect workers’ rights to fair treatment. They require covered employers to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees so they may have equal access to employment and related opportunities. In this article, we will explore the protections these two laws provide, help employees recognize illegal discrimination, and outline steps to take when it occurs.

Chronic Illness as a Protected Disability

A chronic illness is generally a long-term health condition that requires ongoing medical attention, limits an individual’s daily activities, or both. Chronic illnesses include not only physical ailments like multiple sclerosis, lupus, and cancer but also mental health conditions. New Jersey workers with such conditions are legally protected against discrimination on both the state and federal level.

New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

The NJLAD prohibits employment discrimination based on disability, including chronic illnesses. This law applies to all non-federal employers in New Jersey, regardless of size, and prohibits adverse employment actions of any kind, such as termination, demotion, refusal to hire or promote, and harassment based on a worker’s disability. Additionally, it requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to support a disabled worker’s ability to perform their essential job functions unless doing so would cause the employer undue practical or financial hardship.

Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA is the main federal law that protects employees with disabilities, including chronic illnesses, from discrimination. Like the NJLAD, the ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in hiring, job assignments, promotions, and termination and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with chronic illnesses, as long as doing so doesn’t create an undue hardship. Unlike the NJLAD, however, it only applies to employers that have at least 15 employees. Additionally, to qualify as a covered disability under the ADA, a chronic illness must “substantially limit one or more major life activities,” while the NJLAD provides a much broader definition of disability. For these reasons, the NJLAD protects more New Jersey workers who live with chronic illnesses than does the ADA.

Requesting Reasonable Accommodations for a Chronic Illness

In employment law, accommodations are adjustments, supports, or modifications that enable employees with disabilities to perform their job duties effectively. You can request accommodations from your employer simply by notifying them that you need an adjustment or change at work due to a medical condition. Your notification does not have to be in writing to be valid; however, your employer may ask you to formally document your request.

Under both NJLAD and ADA, employers must then initiate an informal interactive process with you to determine what accommodations would be appropriate in light of your health-based limitations and the employer’s operation. What may be considered reasonable varies widely based on these factors, but it could include accommodations such as the following:

• Flexible or altered work schedule
• Remote work
• Additional or longer breaks
• Modifications to work duties
• Modifications to the work environment
• Assistive technology
• Job restructuring
• Short-term or long-term leave

Employers may request medical documentation of your disability and limitations before providing accommodations, but in doing so, they must avoid creating unnecessary delay, and they are not entitled to receive any more medical information than is necessary to confirm your condition and need for accommodation.

Recognizing Illegal Employment Discrimination

Illegal discrimination based on disability can take many forms. Employers might avoid hiring, promoting, or giving preferred job assignments to disabled workers, engage in or tolerate known harassment related to a worker’s chronic illness, fail to engage in the interactive process or provide reasonable accommodations, or retaliate against employees who request accommodations or file complaints. If you are subjected to any of these types of discrimination, save all relevant communications and document each instance with dates, locations, names of witnesses, and any other information that helps to demonstrate what happened as well as when, how, and why your employer took specific actions.

Steps to Take If You Experience Discrimination

In addition to documenting each instance of discrimination that you face at work, review your employer’s policies on discrimination and accommodations, and take any internal paths provided, such as filing a complaint with your human resources department, to resolve the situation. If this proves fruitless or you experience any type of retaliation after reporting a problem, then it might be time to file a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You may also be able to file a lawsuit to recover damages. It’s important to seek the assistance of an experienced and reputable employment attorney in your area. An experienced lawyer understands the complexities of their legal specialties in great detail, putting them in the best position to help you determine the strength of your case and the best path forward.

Protecting Your Rights at Work

If you’re living with chronic illness, you can take proactive steps to protect your rights at work. Communicate clearly with your employers about your medical needs and how specific, reasonable accommodations could support your ability to perform at your best. Remember that your employer doesn’t have to provide an accommodation simply because you ask for it; however, they do have to actively work with you to come up with a solution that meets your needs as well as theirs. Even so, it’s not possible to reasonably accommodate every disabled employee in every job. If you’re unsure whether your employer was justified in refusing to grant your accommodation request, a qualified employment lawyer can help you understand how the courts would likely view your situation.

Particularly for employees with unseen disabilities, it can be scary to “out” yourself to an employer as someone who needs accommodation. However, laws like the ADA and the NJLAD are working to ensure that the millions of Americans who experience disabilities have the same opportunities to succeed and thrive in the workplace as their professional peers. If you think you’ve been the target of discrimination based on your disability, reach out to an employment lawyer today. The trusted team at the Mark | Lavigne law firm is here to help.