Workplace Discrimination and the Perception of Disability

This article documents the employment discrimination experienced by Americans “regarded as” disabled (but not medically verified as such), using the Integrated Mission System of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Claimants who were perceived as disabled, as contrasted with those with documented disabilities, were more likely to file charges of discrimination based on the issues of discharge or hiring. Decisions by the EEOC in favor of claimants perceived to have disabilities disproportionately exceeded those in favor of claimants with documented disabilities. This finding lends support to the assertion that unconscious/implicit bias is persistent in the workplace.