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Over the last few weeks, much of our content has been based on topics such as intellectual property (brand protection, NFTs, DeFi, etc.), Labor Law and the odious COVID-19 vaccine mandates, employee conduct and employer mandate, among many others. While we’ve continued updating our series with new videos and blogs as necessary, we’re much delighted and encouraged by your feedback, subscriptions to our YouTube Channel, and signing up for our Newsletter. Still in pursuant of our primal objective of keeping you enlightened, educated, and informed, we’re shifting gears to focus on other key issues that we find worth exploring. As such, this blog introduces you to a brand new series, which is ushered in by our video titled “The Anatomy Of A Disability Discrimination Claim, Part 1.”

So, why focus on disability discrimination claims? As a way of setting context and ensuring that you ride along with us, we’d like to invite you for a short trip back to history. You’re probably familiar with a 1905 landmark case, the “Jacobson v. Massachusetts” Supreme Court hearing. In this case, Jacobson argued that irrespective of the reason, one should not be subjected to the law for objecting to vaccination, the law was “unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive”, and that being subjected to imprisonment or a penalty for refusing or neglecting vaccination was invading his liberty.

Thus, with the question of vaccination mandates at the heart of the case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws. In the end, Jacobson was prosecuted and fined $5 in value of the dollar back in 1905. What is important to note regarding this case is that Jacobson had an “option” – pay a fine and not be bothered with the vaccination mandate any more. Unfortunately, over the decades, we have got to a point where you can’t have that anymore! Today, if you don’t get vaccinated, you can’t participate in social/communal activities, you can’t have your job, and now we’ve got to a point where you can’t even have your unemployment benefits.

This is ironic because, following the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent shutdowns and quarantines, unemployment benefits kept the people afloat. For instance, the pandemic assistance program ensured that people get at least $1300 per week, which really kept Americans afloat during the hard times. Still, the vaccine mandates have left nurses between the devil and the deep blue sea. It’s got to a point where because of the pressure and tension caused by these vaccine mandates, healthcare facilities are now engaging in some sort of blackmail. We’ve received complaints that nurses, our so-called pandemic heroes now turned criminals, have received emails giving them last chances to get the jab and if they don’t, it would be presumed that they are voluntarily resigning from their employment. Without fear or favor, that’s a spit in the face of the nation’s Labor Law because, historically, it’s been presumed that so long as you are “able,” “ready,” and “willing” to work but your employer creates a condition where you cannot work, you are entitled to unemployment benefits.

It’s absurd that the very fabric upon which the employment law was founded is being shredded into parts for no concrete reason. One would tend to wonder what’s all the fuss with the COVID-19 vaccine because it’s not the first time states are having vaccine mandates. For instance, in the past, New Jersey has had the flu vaccine mandates, but despite having quit for not wanting to have them, people still received their unemployment benefits. This has been the case because again, without fear or favor, this was no COVID, and no election infection, or political pandemic!! Irrespective of your stance on the vaccine issue, you can’t dispute or deny that although no one reports it, even on the CDC’s website, there have reported at least 1.4 million adverse reactions, 22,000 – 23,000 deaths, and innumerable miscarriages attributable to the COVID vaccine. Don’t forget that they had to recall 1.6M Moderna coronavirus vials in Japan because of ‘foreign substances.’ Sadly, the company had the guts to say that the contaminants comprised of “high quality metal.” This is undisputable proof and it’s on public records and, thus, you can’t just go cherry picking on what you like about the CDC! Why not talk about the bad news too?

Don’t forget that when the vaccination started, the CDC indicated that because of the unexplored uncertainties of the new and “untested” COVID vaccine, pregnant women shouldn’t be vaccinated. We’ve dealt with a case where a nurse with a high-risk pregnancy was about to be terminated from the job despite producing a medical exemption from her doctor clearly indicating that the pregnancy was at risk if she got the vaccine. Sad enough, the employer cared less about this and gave this nurse a few more days to get the jab or otherwise be presumed to have voluntarily resigned from her job. It’s under this context that we found it necessary to create the video upon which this blog is adapted.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!!

For starters, this is a hot button political issue and doesn’t auger well with some individuals based on the perspective from which we approach it. Nonetheless, we stand for that which is right and “United we Stand, but Divided We Fall.”

In New York, disability discrimination claims are usually classified under several laws that include ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (The Disability Statute), the New York Human Rights Law (NYHRL), the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), and the PDA (Pregnancy Discrimination Act). However, you’d probably want to bend more towards the state law because it’s more aggressive and comprehensive as compared to the rest. If you’re in New York, you’d want to name all the statutes, but you should specifically focus on the elements of the NYHRL, NYCHRL, and PDA.

In order to have solid discrimination case, you need four elements/items under what is known as “prima facie,” or simply “on the face.” These items include:

  • The plaintiff, the person who’s bringing the complaint, must show that they are a member of a protected class (meaning that they are disabled);
  • The plaintiff must show that they are qualified to hold that position (for instance, they were a Registered Nurse for about 10 years);
  • The plaintiff must show that they were terminated from employment or suffered some kind of adverse effect following the termination;
  • The plaintiff must show that the discharge right of adverse action occurred on the circumstances giving rise to the discrimination.

Next, you need to cite the Executive Law Section 296(3)(a), which speaks to pregnancy-related conditions. Off the bat, being pregnant is not a disability per se. However, from a legal perspective, it is considered a disability when you have certain impairments attributable to your pregnancy. Generally speaking, if your pregnancy impairs performance in your work or poses a threat to your life, then it’s considered a disability and, thus, you’d be entitled to a disability claim. So far, courts in New York have acknowledged four conditions that would make a pregnancy to be considered a disability. These include carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), gestational diabetes, pregnancy-related sciatica, and preeclampsia (a pregnancy-related complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organs).

There is no doubt that if you’re pregnant, then you’re a member of a protected class. Indeed, your pregnancy qualifies to be a disability based on the impairments you have, such as the ones mentioned above. medically, be attributed to it. However, you need to show that these impairments, from a medical perspective, are attributable to your pregnancy.

We invite you to review our video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9pWF-5HEdI

In our next installment, which will be Part II of this series, we’ll hammer on how you analyze these policies that have given rise to your disability claim. Till then, stay tuned for other videos and blogs on other interesting and educative topics. In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, please reach out and let us know at the Contact Us page!