A disabled French woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming that she experienced workplace discrimination after she was not assigned any work duties and still getting her salary.
Laurence Van Wassenhove who has partial paralysis of the face and limbs since birth as well as prone to epilepsy, was employed by a telecommunications company in 1993, South China Morning Post reported.
Van Wassenhove was initially working as a secretary and the company accommodated her needs as a disabled individual.
Still, after requesting a transfer to another region, trouble started brewing as the higher-ups did not consider her disabilities when assigning work duties.
Despite numerous requests for remote work, her work conditions remained the same even after submitting complaints to government and anti-discrimination bodies about her situation.
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Van Wassenhove also alleged the company isolated her from the workplace, not having an office or colleagues, making her seem like a “discarded employee”, as quoted and also pointed out that her salary was reduced gradually with her pension cut, resulting in losses totaling to €650,000 (RM3,294,841).
Her lawyer alleged that she was discriminated against by her workplace since 2004 with her employer attempting to “coerce” her into resigning, thereby reasoning the lawsuit toward the company due to its “negligence, moral harassment, and discrimination,” as quoted.
However, Van Wassenhove’s employer told the local media that her full pay was maintained and did their best to adapt to her medical conditions.
They also said that her return to work in “adapted positions” was apparently in the works but never happened as Van Wassenhove was “regularly on sick leave,” as quoted.
According to French law, employers are obligated to fulfill a 6% quota of disabled employees for companies with at least 20 employees and failure to meet the quota include a contribution to a government body called “Agefiph,” according to Disability: IN.
“Agefiph” is the Association for the Management of the Fund for the Professional Integration of Disabled People (translated from French) that works to resolve the issue of the underemployment of disabled individuals.
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