Leading Telephone Company to Pay $60,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

AUSTIN, Texas –A major telephone company will pay a former employee $60,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

The EEOC’s lawsuit, Civil Action No. A09CA700SS, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin, charged that the telephone company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to hire an applicant as a cable splicer technician in Austin only because of his “insulin use” for type 2 diabetes. The applicant indisputably had the necessary experience and expertise to perform the job, the EEOC said, and had previously safely performed a similar job for the company for many years after he was diagnosed with diabetes.

Refusing to hire a qualified individual because of his or her disability, record of disability, or because the employer perceives a person as being disabled, violates the ADA. The EEOC filed suit after the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office determined the company had violated the ADA and after it tried to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the Commission’s conciliation process.

As part of the agreed consent decree resolving the suit (entered by Judge Sam Sparks), the company will pay $60,000 to its former employee. The company also agreed to comply with the provisions of the ADA and to provide training regarding the ADA to all staffing managers at the company’s non-management staffing office located in San Antonio. The company further agreed to have these staffing managers review the company’s equal employment opportunity policies which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and to acknowledge, in writing, that insulin treatment for diabetes, in and of itself, does not automatically disqualify an individual from employment.

“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said Senior Trial Attorney Eduardo Juarez of the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office . “The ADA protects workers with disabilities from discriminatory treatment including hiring and firing.”

“We are pleased to resolve this case and commend (the company) for acknowledging the importance of preventing discriminatory hiring practices and that every individual deserves a fair chance to obtain a job based on their talent and qualifications, regardless of their disability,” said Supervisory Trial Attorney Judith G. Taylor of the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

For more information on employment discrimination and the ADA, or to protect your company from potential liability, please contact Berkshire Associates at 800.882.8904 or email bai@berkshireassociates.com.