ABSTRACT
Many employment protection laws, including the Americans with disabilities act (ADA) have provisions relating to the size of the organization. Although the legal limitations imposed on the traditional "at-will" employment rule mainly concerned broad social issues and public policy, lawmakers have expanded protections in many key areas. Of particular interest to the practice of Industrial Hygiene and Safety (IH/S) are two areas of employment regulation: disability discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. It is important for IH/S professionals to work with in house counsel to determine which disability programs apply and how to manage situations where employees present with disabilities or request accommodations. The most compelling overlap of IH/S practice and the law is the retaliation against an employee who complains about unsafe working conditions. Most states have laws on the books to address workplace retaliation, most often in the form of whistleblower protection.
