New York Civil Rights Violation Lawyer Questions TSA Disability Discrimination After One-Handed Man Gets Rejected for Employment
A one-handed man is accusing the TSA of disability discrimination for denying him employment and saying he's unfit to work.

August 13, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A one-handed Queens man filed an internal discrimination complaint against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after agency doctors informed him that he did not qualify for employment as a screener because of his disability, reported the New York Daily News.

In his civil rights violation complaint, Costantino is alleging that the TSA violated discrimination laws.

Michael Constantino, a former amateur boxer who was born without a left hand, applied for a TSA job at New York's LaGuardia Airport approximately 18 months ago. He then cleared a background check, interviewed and passed an initial test whereby applicants pick out weapons on an X-ray screen, reported WABC-TV New York.

According to Constantino, his missing hand was never brought up. He reportedly was never asked to demonstrate his ability to perform job related tasks either.

The New York Daily News confirmed the TSA has one-armed screeners working at other airports including Dulles International Airport. As reported, the agency said employment standards were changed after the other one-armed workers were hired.

New York civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm understand that TSA officials made an assumption that Constantino couldn't pat down passengers or check luggage because of his disability. From the New York Daily News, civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm also understand that at least one similarly disabled TSA employee has risen through the security-screening ranks.

According to MSNBC.com, an anonymous TSA official said that Congress gave the agency the leeway to create its own physical qualifications for the Transportation Security Officer position when it passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) in 2001. The law states that screeners must "possess basic aptitudes and physical abilities, including color perception, visual and aural acuity, physical coordination, and motor skills."

"The federal government is not exempt from laws that protect disabled workers. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability by the federal government," said David Perecman, founder of The Perecman Firm, one of New York's civil rights violation law firms.

The Rehabilitation Act is very similar in protections to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and prohibits disability discrimination by federal employers.

About 5,500 complaints were filed by federal employees last year with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding alleged discrimination based on disabilities, reported MSNBC.com.

Discrimination law has been designed to prohibit the unfair treatment of a person or group of people based on certain protected characteristics. Disability discrimination, age discrimination, gender discrimination and race discrimination are all prohibited by federal law.

TheNew York civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm have over 30 years of experience in representing victims of disability discrimination. Disability discrimination lawyers can explain legal rights and options to a victim of disability discrimination, then provide experienced legal counsel if it is necessary to file a formal New York disability discrimination claim.

The expert civil rights violation lawyers at The Perecman Firm also handle all types of workplace discrimination claims, including age discrimination, race discrimination, gender discrimination, national origin discrimination and religious discrimination.

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