An Indiana-based senior living community will pay $115,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The lawsuit states that the senior living community had determined that a certified nursing assistant (CNA) could no longer perform the essential functions of her job due to lifting restrictions resulting from a work injury. The CNA had expressed interest in several jobs at the senior living community that she could have performed without violating her lifting restrictions. The senior living community refused to accommodate her request to transfer to a vacant position for which she was qualified.
This refusal violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from failing to consider reasonable accommodations for employees with a disability.
As part of the settlement, the senior living community will pay $115,000 to the former CNA. They are also mandated to assign a human resources manager to work with employees who can no longer perform their job duties because of a disability to evaluate transfer as a reasonable accommodation. Additionally, the senior living community is required to train employees on the ADA, posting of notices regarding the settlement, and periodic reporting to the EEOC of accommodation requests received for the next 18 months. Prior to filing the lawsuit, the EEOC attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.
The regional attorney of the EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office, Kenneth Bird, stated, “This resolution reflects the EEOC’s commitment to ensuring qualified employees are provided the reasonable accommodations which they are entitled to receive under the ADA — including situations such as this, where the reasonable accommodation may be a transfer to a vacant position.”
Issue:
Disability discrimination is prohibited in the workplace. Any concerns regarding an employee’s ability to perform his or her essential job duties should be reported to the human resource department immediately. Every effort should be made to have the employee evaluated to determine any limitations and what specific duties the employee can perform. While federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, most states have enacted their own additional laws regarding workplace discrimination, including against employees and applicants with disabilities. It is essential that administration and human resource representatives are aware of their state-specific laws, in addition to federal laws like the ADA.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policies and procedures for prevention of disability discrimination. Ensure that your state’s laws for preventing disability discrimination are included, and update as needed.
- Train staff about their right to be free from disability discrimination in the workplace. Additionally, train human resource staff on providing reasonable accommodation when requested by employees who have limitations due to disabilities. Document that these trainings occurred and file each signed document in the employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit by reviewing the records of employees who experienced a workplace injury that limits their ability to perform essential duties of their job. Determine if reasonable accommodations were requested, available, and authorized for these injured employees.
