Wyoming ADA: What you need to know

The Wyoming Fair Employment Practices Act prohibits employment practices that discriminate against a qualified person with a disability (WY Stat. Sec. 27-9-101et seq.). The Act covers employers with two or more employees.

Qualified person with a disability. A qualified person with a disability is capable of performing a particular job, or would be, with a reasonable accommodation for the disability (WY Stat. Sec. 27-9-105).

Regulations issued by the Wyoming Department of Employment define "a person with a disability" as one who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
• Has a record of such an impairment, or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment.

Employers must make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental impairment of qualified persons unless to do so would impose an undue business hardship. Possible accommodations include making facilities accessible, job restructuring, or modifying work schedules or equipment.

Reassignment. If a reasonable accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer, the employer must consider reassigning the employee to a vacant position. The employee must be qualified for the new position, and the new position must be equivalent in terms of pay, status, and benefits. If there is no vacant equivalent position, the employer must reassign the employee to a vacant lower level position for which the employee is qualified.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the definition of a "vacant" position for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one that would be available for a similarly situated ...