You Don’t Have to Be Disabled to Be Protected From Disability Discrimination
“You don’t have to lift anything heavy. We’ll take care of that for you.” That’s what one employee heard the week after a minor surgery, before anyone asked what the surgery was even for.
No diagnosis. No accommodation request. No conversation about what the employee could or couldn’t actually do.
Just an assumption, acted on.
Most people think disability discrimination law only protects people who are, in fact, disabled. That assumption is wrong, and it has been wrong under California law for a long time.
The ADA has a “regarded as” prong. California’s version is broader, and it controls here. Under FEHA (Gov. Code § 12926(j)(4), (m)(4)), an employer that treats someone as though they have a disabling condition, whether or not they actually do, can trigger the same protections as if the condition were real.
Assumptions based on a scar, a limp, a stutter, an illness someone mentioned once in passing. Pulling someone off assignments to “protect” them. Reassigning duties nobody asked to have reassigned. All of it can matter, even without a diagnosis anywhere in the file.
We see this from both sides of the table at this firm, representing employers who are trying to do the decent thing and get it legally wrong, and employees who never even asked for help before it was imposed on them. That vantage point is part of why the pattern is so easy to spot.
Don’t be afraid to use the word discrimination. You don’t have to be disabled for the law to already be on your side.
Contact Michael Trust Law, APC for a no-charge initial consultation. The facts determine whether you have a claim — and how much of a conversation that takes.
This post shares general information based on common patterns I see in California workplaces. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and outcomes depend on specific facts — no lawyer can guarantee a result. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. AI may have been used to create this post. All content reviewed by a CA attorney before publication.