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Re: Disabled Prospective Tenant? - Landlord Forum thread 332691

Re: Disabled Prospective Tenant? by Anonymous on March 26, 2015 @20:22

                              
Workers' comp definitions of what are total vs. temporary disabilities are entirely different than they would be on the "outside" (general medicine) because the over-riding emphasis is on not paying out too much on a claim.

Finding in a report a reference to a "temporary disability" could pertain to a lot of things, including the issuance of temporary disability compensation during a period of TOTAL disability (e.g. patient is not authorized to return to work by doctor). The use of the word "temporary" in the workers' comp universe has little to do with whether the individual is expected to make a full recovery. Work comp' claims tend to drag on and on, and at the end of the process the employer may not even ALLOW the temporarily disabled person to return to work because the nature of the work is such that they can no longer be expected to do the same job (and the job doesn't offer any reasonable alternative accommodation). The physical demands of an EMT would certainly qualify as one of those jobs where it is less likely than most to result in a return to work. If and when that decision is made, then they will aim to retrain the injured individual for another job.

Factors of disability are constrained by type/body part. A lifetime medical "award" may very well be issued for ongoing treatment of what is classified as a "permanent partial disability". A "temporarily" disabled individual may qualify for handicap permits, durable medical devices and mobility aids — and may later be converted to PPD status. My point is, there's no way to know if he is or is not going to suffer a permanent disability, therefore you should not make his disability, whether permanent or temporary, a factor.

Workers' comp claims almost never result in a finding of "total" disability but almost always characterize an injury as a partial disability. That doesn't mean anything other than the fact that it saves the insurer money to make such a finding. Someone who has suffered the loss of a limb can be found "temporarily disabled" during the recovery/rehab process even though, in reality, the loss is permanent and they may go on to qualify for and collect Social Security Disability after the initial recovery from the lost limb is made.

Workers' comp language often has little bearing on the true nature or duration of an injury. The language you will see in reference to work comp' injuries have specific legal implications as it pertains to "factors of disability" as related to a specific body part. Disability ratings are made according to a schedule that considers body part in relation to the findings of a qualified medical examiner. It has nothing to do with whether the injury resolves and the individual ultimately returns to work.

You can't discriminate on the basis of a disability. Period.
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Re: Disabled Prospective Tenant? by Anonymous on March 26, 2015 @22:43 [ Reply ]
Agreed. But I can deny based on an F credit FICO score, next to no income, and 97 pounds of pets when my published pet standard is less than 1/3 that.

No one, disabled or not, is a protected class when it comes to F credit, no income and too many pounds of pet.

(The F score is a Transunion rating)
Re: Disabled Prospective Tenant? by Anonymous on March 29, 2015 @12:33 [ Reply ]
what does workman comp have to do with discrimination law in renting to disabled applicant? they are two separate things!

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