Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog
Both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 prohibit employment discrimination based on disabilities in most workplaces in Texas. If you think you’ve been subjected to discrimination because of your disability, you may have a basis to bring a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
Individuals qualified as having disabilities under federal and state laws have a physical or mental disability that substantially limits at least one of their major life activities, have a record of having such a disability, or are perceived as having this type of disability. Major life activities under the ADA include caring for yourself, performing physical tasks, seeing, hearing, sleeping, eating, walking, standing, bending, lifting, reading, concentrating, thinking, and breathing. Major life activities also include the proper operation of a major bodily function, such as neurological function, brain function, or endocrine function. “Disability” is supposed to be defined broadly.
An impairment that substantially limits a single major life activity doesn’t need to limit any other major life activity in order to be considered a disability that is covered by the ADA. Even impairments that are episodic or in remission may be disabilities if they would significantly restrict a major life activity when active or not in remission.