How Disability Awareness can Help Avoid Law Suits

The idea of disability awareness training is a fairly new one to the business world.  In a nutshell, disability awareness training is intended to help employees who are not disabled understand the situation and specific challenges of employees who are disabled and who may be hired or who are currently employed in the company.  Disabled individuals face a wide variety of challenges when doing things that non disabled individuals take for granted – these challenges can be anything from how to get into the building using a wheelchair instead of being able to walk, to how to perform normal daily tasks without the ability to do so as easily as someone who is not disabled.  Disability awareness training can help to prevent discrimination lawsuits in a number of ways. 

How Disability Awareness Protects You From Lawsuits

• One way in which disability awareness training helps to prevent lawsuits is by helping your employees learn the laws and the ins and outs of dealing with disabled individuals who may come to visit your business.  Service dogs are an excellent example of where disability awareness can come into play.  If your establishment has a “no pets” policy and one of your employees turns away an individual who comes in with a dog, you may be subject to a lawsuit because disabled people with service animals are legally allowed to bring their pets into most establishments.

• Another way in which disability awareness training helps to prevent lawsuits is by helping your business identify areas where your building, facilities, or services are not up to code under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  For example, a handicapped-accessible restroom must be provided, but what if your restroom does not meet these standards.  Without awareness training, you might not know this, and you might be subject to a lawsuit when someone tries to use your restroom and is unable to.  With awareness training, you could make the proper modifications ahead of time and prevent a lawsuit from happening.

• Another way that disability awareness training helps to prevent lawsuits is by helping your employees to understand the challenges faced by disabled individuals so that they can work together more easily with disabled co workers, and so that they can help disabled customers and clients more fully and avoid disputes or incorrect actions that could lead to lawsuits.  Disability awareness training is a cheap insurance against problems arising from a lack of understanding of disabled individuals and the laws that help them live a normal life.

Getting Help

Disability lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act could cost your business a lot of money. It is a good idea to consult with an experienced attorney to find out what your legal responsibilities are, so you can make sure all employees are aware of their obligations to the disabled during disability awareness training.