Disability Law Summaries

Disability Law Summaries

Wyoming, Disability Law Summaries

Wyoming's disability discrimination provisions are located in the state's fair employment practices law, which is codified in the Wyoming Statutes Annotated at Title 27, Chapter 9. This law is summarized at ¶52-2500 . Full text of the law is available beginning at Employment Practices Guide ¶53-20,025.01

Other disability provisions are located in the Wyoming Statutes at Title 16, Chapter 6 (Accessibility); Title 35, Chapter 13 (Accessibility and Housing); and Title 16, Chapter 9 (Telecommunications), and are summarized below. Also, rules have been adopted concerning disability discrimination in the Wyoming Administrative Code at Chapter 025-140-005 (Employment).

Interaction of disability laws.- State or local disability laws that provide protection that is greater than or equivalent to that of the Americans with Disabilities Act are not nullified by the Act, and neither are laws that provide less protection than the ADA. However, if either law provides less protection than the other, the law with the lesser standard cannot be used as a defense to the law with the higher standard.

Before making any decisions that will affect the rights of people with disabilities, it is important that state laws be compared with the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A person with a disability may prefer to file charges under a state law with fewer protections if that state law has greater remedies than the ADA.

DEFINITIONS

“Service dog” means a dog that has been or is being specially trained to the requirements of a person with a disability (Sec. 35-13-205, as added by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

“Person with a disability” means an individual who has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (Sec. 35-13-205, as added by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

“Major life activities” means functions associated with the normal activities of independent daily living such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing or speaking (Sec. 35-13-205, as added by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

The following terms apply to the disability discrimination rules.

Disabled person means any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment (025-140-005, Sec. 2).

Major life activities means functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working (025-140-005, Sec. 2)

Mental impairment means any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation; organic brain syndrome; emotional or mental illness; and specific learning disabilities (025-140-005, Sec. 2)

Physical impairment means any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitourinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine (025-140-005, Sec. 2).

Qualified disabled person means a disabled person who is capable of performing a particular job, or who would be capable of performing a particular job with reasonable accommodation to his disability (025-140-005, Sec. 2).

Undue hardship means an action that is excessively costly, extensive, substantial or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business (025-140-005, Sec. 2).

ACCESSIBILITY

Facilities.- Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability has the same rights as others to the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public facilities, and other public places (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Service animals.- Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability may be accompanied by a service dog in any public facility. The users of the dogs may not be required to pay an extra charge for the dog but are liable for any damages done to the facilities by the dog (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Public accommodations.- Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability has the same rights as other citizens to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of all hotels, motels, lodging places, restaurants, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort, and other places to which the general public is invited (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Service animals.- Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability has the right to be accompanied by a service dog in any place of public accommodation. The users of the dogs may not be required to pay an extra charge for the dog but are liable for any damages done to the premises by the dog (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Any person who knowingly, willfully and without lawful cause or justification inflicts, or permits or directs any animal under his control or ownership to inflict, serious bodily harm, permanent disability or death upon any service dog is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both (Sec. 35-13-206, as enacted by Ch. 41 (H. 55), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

Accessibility standards.- The plans and specifications for the construction of or additions to buildings for general public use built by the state or any governmental subdivision, school district or other public administrative body within the state shall provide facilities and features conforming with the specifications set forth in the publication entitled “American Standard Specifications of Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped” (U.S. Patent No. A117.1-1961) as approved by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (Sec. 16-6-501, as amended by Ch. 130 (H. 109), L. 2004, effective March 19, 2004).

Enforcement.- Any person denying or interfering with admittance to or enjoyment of public facilities or otherwise interfering with the rights of the blind, partially blind, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined not more than $750.00 (Sec. 35-13-203, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

EMPLOYMENT

An employer shall make reasonable accommodation for known physical or mental impairments of qualified disabled persons unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business (025-140-005, Sec. 3).

Reasonable accommodations may include but are not limited to the following (205-140-005, Sec. 3):

1. Making facilities used by employees readily accessible to and useable by qualified disabled persons;

2. Job restructuring;

3. Modifying work schedules;

4. Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices; or

5. Providing qualified readers or interpreters.

In determining undue hardship, the following factors are to be considered (025-140-005, Sec. 3):

1. The nature and cost of the accommodation in relationship to the size of the business;

2. The business's financial resources; and

3. The impact of the accommodation on the nature and structure of the business operation.

Case law.- An employee who alleged that he was fired in violation of the public policy against disability discrimination could not proceed with his wrongful discharge claim, the Wyoming supreme court ruled, finding the employee failed to first exhaust administrative remedies even though he had been informed that his administrative claim had been closed. The employee, who suffered from “connective tissue disorder,” experienced a series of physical problems during his seven years of employment that required several surgeries. After he was terminated for poor performance, he filed a claim with the state’s fair employment agency alleging that his discharge was based on his employer’s perception that he was disabled. The agency attempted to conciliate the employee’s claim and when that failed, the employee was informed the matter was closed and the case was referred to the EEOC. Upon receiving a right to sue letter from the EEOC, the employee brought a state court claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. However, the trial court refused to hear the claim, ruling that the employee could have pursued a hearing in front of an independent hearing officer under the state’s Administrative Procedure Act. Affirming, the state supreme court found that the employee failed to avail himself of the fair hearing process, and thus, because there was another remedy for violation of the public policy, he could not pursue his wrongful discharge claim (Kolar v R&P, Inc , WyoSCt, April 21, 2009).

TRANSPORTATION

Any blind, partially blind, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability who is a passenger on any common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, boat or any other public conveyance operating within the state may have a service dog with the person (Sec. 35-13-204, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

A committee on telecommunications services for the communications impaired, existing of seven members, shall be created. The committee shall review and recommend policies and procedures governing administration of a program to provide specialized telecommunications equipment and message relay services to persons who are communications impaired. It shall also assist the state in obtaining certification from the Federal Communications Commission, review budgetary and financial matters and monitor the quality of the program (Sec. 16-9-201, as amended by Ch. 100 (H. 101), L. 2002, effective April 2002 and 16-9-204).

The purposes of the telecommunications program are (1) to furnish specialized telecommunications equipment to meet the needs of persons who are communications impaired and (2) to provide a message relay system to allow persons who are communications impaired to communicate via the telecommunications network with persons who are not communications impaired (Sec. 16-9-205).

Message relay system.- The state division of vocational rehabilitation, after consultation with the committee, shall contract with a qualified provider to design and implement a message relay system. The contract shall required that the system (Sec. 16-9-206):

1. be available statewide for operations seven days a week, 24 hours per day, including holidays, for both interstate and intrastate calls;

2. relay all messages promptly and accurately;

3. maintain the privacy of persons using the system;

4. preserve the confidentiality of all telephone communications; and

5. conform to any standards established by applicable state or federal laws or regulations.

HOUSING

Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability must not be discriminated against in the leasing or rental of apartments and other private residential property because of a disability (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Service animals.- Any blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired person or other person with a disability may be accompanied by a service dog in any housing accommodation without paying an extra charge for the dog, must not be discriminated against in the leasing or rental of residential property because the person has a service dog and is liable for any damages done to the premises or facilities by the dog (Sec. 35-13-201, as amended by S. 4, L. 2001, effective March 1, 2001).

Any person who knowingly, willfully and without lawful cause or justification inflicts, or permits or directs any animal under his control or ownership to inflict, serious bodily harm, permanent disability or death upon any service dog is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both (Sec. 35-13-206, as enacted by Ch. 41 (H. 55), L. 2005, effective July 1, 2005).

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Wyoming, Disability Law Summaries

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