NYC Commission On Human Rights Issues Guidance On Employers' Obligations Under The City's Disability Discrimination Laws

The New York City Commission on Human Rights ("Commission") recently issued a 146-page guide titled "Legal Enforcement Guidance on Discrimination on the Basis of Disability" ("Guidance") to educate employers and other covered entities on their responsibilities to job applicants and employees with respect to both preventing disability discrimination and accommodating disabilities. The New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL") defines "disability discrimination" more broadly than does state or federal disability law, and the Guidance is useful in understanding how the Commission will be interpreting and enforcing the law.

The basic principles of the NYCHRL's prohibition against disability discrimination are as follows:

Employers may not discriminate against a qualified job applicant or employee on the basis of an actual or perceived physical or mental disability; Employers may not discriminate against an applicant or employee based upon his or her association with an individual with an actual or perceived disability; Employers must provide applicants and employees, upon their request, with a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the job, if the disability is known or should have been known by the employer, unless, among other reasons doing so would result in undue hardship; and The cooperative dialogue law, which becomes effective October 15, 2018, will require employers to engage in and document a "cooperative dialogue" with a person who has requested an accommodation or who the employer "has notice may require such an accommodation." As the Guidance makes clear, the Commission generally construes these four tenets and the myriad employer responsibilities they embody liberally. For example, as set forth in the chart below, the NYCHRL prohibits a wide range of conduct. Prohibited Conduct under NYCHRL

Prohibited Conduct Definition Example(s) Disparate Treatment Treating a job applicant or employee with a disability or perceived disability differently from other applicants or employees without a disability. Refusal to hire an otherwise qualified applicant as a sales clerk because the individual has a speech impediment (assuming the applicant can still be easily understood). Harassment A single or repeated incident that "creates an environment or reflects or fosters a culture or atmosphere of stereotyping, degradation, humiliation, bias, or objectification," of an individual because of his or her actual or perceived disability. Under the NYCHRL, the severity or pervasiveness of the harassment is only relevant to damages. A...