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Your Legal Rights - Responding to Discrimination

“Discrimination” means that the employer treats you unfairly because you have a disability.  It is against the law to discriminate against someone because they have a disability. 

The following are examples of discrimination based on disability: 

  • Being directly or indirectly asked if you have a disability during the hiring process
  • Not being paid equally to others who are in equal positions with equal experience
  • Being harassed because of your disability
  • Being fired because you have a disability

icon of two people If you think you are being treated unfairly because you have a disability, the first thing you should do is tell someone who does not work with you.  This should be an adult who you trust and who can give you very good advice.  Why

two people talkingSome good people to talk to are: 

  • Past or current teacher
  • Job coach
  • Family member
  • Counselor or therapist
  • Mentor
  • Past supervisor
  • Vocational Rehabilitation staff

After talking it over with someone who you trust, if you both believe that you are being discriminated against, there are several steps you should take:

Step 1:  Get an advocate.

An advocate is someone who has been trained to support you and can help you get your message across most clearly and accurately. 

Check with your local Vocational Rehabilitation center to find out if there are advocacy services in your area.  Local chapters of the Autism Society www.autism-society.org may also provide advocates. 

Step 2:  Go to the Human Resources (H.R.) Department and request a meeting.

Here is what you should bring to this meeting:

icon of personAn advocate:  This person will help get your message across.  Sometimes, human resources staff may take you and your concerns more seriously if you bring an advocate with you.

icon of hand writing A written description of the discrimination.  You should write down a clear statement about what happened.  You can use these notes/script in the meeting to help you stay organized and calm.

If the company does not have an H.R. department, then go to the owner of the company or your boss.  You should only do this if the owner of the company or the boss is not the person who you believe has discriminated against you. . 

Step 3:  File a charge of discrimination

If you have gotten advice from someone you trust (e.g., an advocate, a mentor, job coach, etc.) and you are positive that you are being discriminated against at work because of your disability, then the next step is to file a charge of discrimination. Filing a charge of discrimination means that you submit a formal complaint to the Equal Employees Opportunities Commission (EEOC). You may need an advocate or a lawyer to help you with this, but the EEOC is also available to support you when filing your complaint.

Filing a charge of discrimination should be your very last resort.  It is a very serious charge.  Before you even consider filing a charge of discrimination, you should get an advocate and discuss your concerns with someone you trust.  Lawsuits are expensive and very time-consuming.  Therefore, most employers will want to work with you to figure out a reasonable solution. 


Key Points
  • “Discrimination” means that the employer treats you unfairly because you have a disability.
  • If you think you are being treated unfairly because you have a disability, you should first tell someone who you trust. 
  • This person should be someone who does not work with you.
  • Before filing a charge of discrimination, get an advocate. 
  • An advocate is someone who has been trained to support you and can help you get your message across most clearly and accurately. 
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