California Employer ADA Compliance:  Advice, Help, Defense

1. Disability Law Compliance and Lawsuit Prevention Advice for Employers

As an employer, your dealings with current and potential employees may be regulated by disabilities laws under the ADA and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which prohibit discrimination in employment and might require you to take steps to facilitate a disabled employee in the performance of his or her duties.  As your attorneys, we will answer your questions and ensure you understand how to maintain business practices that are ADA and FEHA compliant so you can avoid potential non-compliance lawsuits.  We can help you with all of the following:

• Identifying which disabilities laws apply to your business, if any. More employers are covered by the FEHA than by the ADA, and each has its own standards. 
• Working with you to create employment practices that prevent any unintentional discrimination against protected groups. California and federal law have important differences when determining which employees and applicants are disabled or have a covered medical condition.  These laws likely cover conditions that you may not have guessed to qualify as a disability, such as alcoholism. 
• Identifying the specific steps or adjustments you need to make to equal “reasonable accommodations” - required by disability laws before you can reject certain applicants for inability to do the work, and required when you handle employee matters.  We will also advise you on when accommodations are not legally required.
• Creating hiring policies that avoid unlawful inquiries or conditions while still allowing you to properly assess whether an applicant is qualified. We will review your qualification standards to make sure they are compliant and help you create and maintain hiring records that can be used to challenge discrimination claims, such as proper job descriptions.
• Determining what constitutes discrimination under disability laws, preventing discrimination in all aspects of your employment relationship, and deciding what you should document to guard against discrimination allegations.  You'll then know when you need to be especially careful.  For example, discrimination issues can arise regarding access to benefits, physical access to facilities, and your employment decisions, including termination and promotions.
• Complying with disability laws requiring that you provide employees with certain notices and keep certain records. 
• Developing leave policies that comply with the ADA and other disabilities laws.  You may be required to provide leave time for an employee with a disability.  In Addition, employees who have a child or need to deal with serious medical conditions might have leave rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).  We can give you experienced, reliable advice on whether and when your employees have leave and reinstatement rights.
• Taking tax credits and deductions that are available to your business to reduce your compliance expenses.

For more information about ADA and state disability laws that may apply to your business, please see these sections:

• ADA Compliance and Lawsuit Prevention Advice for Businesses
• ADA Compliance and Lawsuit Prevention Advice for Landlords and Tenants

2. Defense of Lawsuits Against Employers for Non-Compliance with
     Disability Laws

San Diego Law Firm is experienced in defending businesses, employers, landlords, and tenants against suits for non-compliance under the ADA, FMLA, FEHA, and other state and federal disability laws.  We will carefully review discrimination or accessibility claims brought against you and advise you on your options.  As your legal counsel, we will help you resolve your disability compliance problem in a way that will help minimize disruption and expense to you and your business. 

3. Benefits to Our Clients

We are committed to keeping our clients fully informed and offering them the guidance and support they need to make good choices between different legal alternatives.  San Diego Law Firm will ensure that all of your legal matters are supervised by a seasoned senior partner who will act as your Personal Legal Representative and oversee your legal affairs, even if another attorney is performing a particular service for you. For as long as we represent you, you will receive the same dedication and quality of service that brought you to us in the first place.

How to Contact San Diego Law Firm

We handle matters throughout California, and new clients are always welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact us either by:

Telephone: (619) 794-0243

E-mail: contactus@SanDiegoLawFirm.com
 

We can be reached by telephone Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You may also use the form below to contact us. This form is answered Monday through Friday during the work day. Please remember that for us to become your attorneys, we must first have a written attorney-client agreement signed by both of us, so please do not email any confidential information at this point. After we have reached an agreement with you, we can then exchange information freely. We look forward to helping you.

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