A California appellate court recently upheld a $1.5m disability discrimination verdict against the City of Los Angeles for discharging a police officer from a light duty position after being found to be 100 percent disabled for the purposes of workers compensation. Though this may seem counter-intiutive to a lay person it makes sense if you know how workers compensation and disability discrimination statutes operate. I believe a similar verdict would be possible in Nebraska.

…disability discrimination claims hinge on whether the employers made a reasonable attempt to accommodate their employees disability.

In short, total disability in workers compensation is a measure of how a person’s limitations effect them in the general labor market, while disability discrimination claims hinge on whether the employers made a reasonable attempt to accommodate their employees disability. Continue reading →