Body Imaging, P.C. v. Bureau of Labor & Industries

Body Imaging v. Bureau of Labor & Industries: Court Protects Worker with Perceived Disability

This case involved an employee at Body Imaging, a medical practice, who faced workplace discrimination based on her employer's perception that she had a disability. The company changed her job conditions and made her work situation so difficult that she felt forced to quit. She filed a complaint with Oregon's Bureau of Labor & Industries, claiming disability discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations, retaliation, and a hostile work environment.

Oregon's labor commissioner found that Body Imaging violated state disability discrimination laws by altering the employee's work terms because they perceived her as having a disability, and by creating conditions that effectively forced her to resign (called "constructive discharge"). When Body Imaging appealed to court, the judge mostly upheld the commissioner's findings, though they disagreed with some aspects of how the constructive discharge was analyzed.

This ruling matters for workers because it confirms that employers cannot discriminate against employees based on perceived disabilities—even if the worker doesn't actually have a disability. It also shows that making someone's job so unbearable that they quit can be just as illegal as firing them outright. Workers facing similar treatment have legal protections and can file complaints with their state labor agencies.