An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 7 - Recognizing And Preventing Harassment, Discrimination And Retaliation

or she was regarded as having a physical disability. 854 And while persons who are successfully rehabilitated drug addicts can claim protection as disabled persons, anyone currently unlawfully using controlled substances or illegal drugs cannot. 855 LCW Practice Advisor On occasion, school employees claim that they cannot continue to work for a particular supervisor due to stress or anxiety that the supervisor allegedly is

causing the employee. Anxiety or stress caused by a supervisor’s “standard oversight” of an employee’s job performance is not a recognized disability. Accordingly, a school generally does not have to accommodate an employee who requests a transfer to a different supervisor due to stress or anxiety that the employee’s current supervisor is causing the employee. 856

Schools must carefully consider any request for an accommodation before determining that the request is not reasonable. The School is in fact required to engage in the interactive process to evaluate both requested and other potential reasonable accommodations (see the Interactive Process chapter). 857 D. M ENTAL D ISABILITY The prohibition against discrimination also protects employees and job applicants with mental or psychological disorders, including cognitive disabilities, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and learning disabilities. 858 Neither the ADA nor the FEHA protect the unlawful use of drugs, compulsive gambling, sexual behavior disorders, kleptomania, or pyromania. 859 LCW Practice Advisor Students (except those attending religious schools) E. M EDICAL C ONDITION The FEHA also prohibits discrimination against, or harassment of an employee or job applicant because of his or her “medical condition.” To qualify as a medical condition, the health impairment must either (1) be related to or associated with cancer, or a record or history of cancer; or (2) be caused by genetic characteristics which are known to cause a disease or disorder. 860 F. S EX /G ENDER Discrimination based on sex includes sexual harassment, as well as gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, or breastfeeding or a medical condition related to breastfeeding. 861 In California, are covered by Title III of the ADA and must be reasonably accommodated for physical or mental disabilities, which may include learning disabilities.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 213