AGE AND DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN THE CLINICAL LABORATORY

This article uses hypothetical cases to familiarize clinical laboratory professionals with three major employment discrimination laws: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990-all in currently amended forms. The hypothetical situations presented demonstrate that violations of these laws are not always the results of malicious acts by "evil" employers. These violations can easily occur in laboratories unless all supervisory and administrative laboratory Professionals make a firm commitment to employment practices that offer equal opportunity to all employees. Several options are suggested as effective and inexpensive methods of training laboratory professionals in the basic dos and don'ts of employee/employer relations.