Retaliation for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for a Disability is Now Illegal in Missouri
Retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability is now illegal in Missouri.
Under longstanding Missouri law, employers must provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a known disability. However, until the Missouri court of appeals decided Lin v.Ellis in November of 2018, Missouri law was silent about whether retaliation against an employee for requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability was illegal. In deciding Lin v. Ellis, the Missouri court of appeals said it is.
Disability
An employee alleging retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability is not required to prove that the employee was in fact disabled. Instead, the employee must simply prove that the request was made in good faith and with a reasonable belief that it was a request to accommodate a disability as defined by the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA).
The MHRA broadly defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that, with or without reasonable accommodation, does not interfere with the person’s job performance. An employee alleging retaliatory discrimination must prove that the employee participated in an activity protected by the MHRA, that the employer took adverse action against the employee, and that the adverse action was related to the participation in the protected activity. Under Lin v. Ellis, requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability is now a protected activity.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 15% of all Missourians had a disability in 2015. As such, many Missouri employers are likely to encounter job applicants who are disabled or have one or more employee who is disabled. As such, all Missouri employers need to understand Missouri’s new law prohibiting retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability. Likewise, job applicants and employees now have more certainty of their legal rights when faced with retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation for a disability.
Sewell Law provides professional legal services in the areas of real estate, business, and litigation. Please contact Michael at (314) 942-3232 or at michael@sewelllaw.net to discuss your litigation or other legal matters.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
© 2018 Sewell Law, LC
