A family owned Michigan senior living company has agreed to pay $31,750 to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit that was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC lawsuit charged the company with discharging a caregiver whom it perceived as disabled.
The EEOC’s lawsuit claims that the caregiver passed her preemployment physical examination and worked for the facility for weeks without incident. When the director of the facility became aware that the caregiver had some level of nerve damage to her right hand, the company required the caregiver to have another physical examination. The second examiner determined that the caregiver met the physical standards of the examination but declined to pass her unconditionally due to her nerve damage. This ultimately resulted in the facility refusing to allow the caregiver to return to work and firing her without evaluating whether her nerve damage impacted her ability to perform her job duties.
The alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After attempting unsuccessfully to reach a prelitigation resolution through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against the Michigan company.
In addition to the $31,750 the company was ordered to pay, the three year consent decree which settled the lawsuit provides for injunctive relief, training on the ADA, and compliance-related reporting to the EEOC.
Addition information on disability discrimination can be accessed at: Disability Discrimination | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov).
Issue:
Disability discrimination is prohibited in the workplace. When there are concerns about an employee, human resources should be contacted immediately. Every effort should be made to have the employee appropriately evaluated to determine if there are any limitations and which specific duties the employee can perform. While federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, most states have enacted their own additional laws. It is essential that administration and human resources are aware of both federal and their own state-specific laws.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policies and procedures for prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Ensure that your state’s laws for nondiscrimination and nonretaliation are included in the policies and procedures. Update policies as needed.
- Train all staff, including managers and supervisors, about the right to be free from discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Teach staff to report any concerns of discrimination or retaliation to their immediate supervisor, the administrator, human resources, the compliance and ethics officer, or through the facility’s hotline.
- Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they may be experiencing discrimination or retaliation in the workplace, or if they have observed it happening to coworkers. In addition, ensure that all staff are aware of how to report any concerns of discrimination or retaliation against themselves or others.
