What constitutes disability-related harassment?

Disability-related harassment constitutes any hostile conduct based on an individual’s actual or perceived disability that substantially interferes with their ability to work or participate in a learning environment. This hostile conduct can include offensive remarks or jokes, teasing, name-calling, physical or verbal threats, ridicule, or exclusion from activities. Disability-related harassment is often considered discrimination and in California it is a violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The key components of disability-related harassment are hostility and interference. The discriminatory actions must be done on purpose and not simply be a mistake or unintentionally hurtful behavior. The hostility must have a substantial affect on the individual, interfering with their ability to work, learn, or engage in the environment. Harassment can also come in the form of disability-based harassment that creates a hostile, threatening, or intimidating environment. This could be shown through derogatory comments about an individual’s disability, mocking or mimicking a disability, or other similar behavior. If you or someone you know is experiencing disability-related harassment in California, filing a claim with FEHA is a possibility. Instances of disability-related harassment are taken very seriously in California, as they are viewed as forms of discrimination.

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What constitutes disability-related harassment?

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