Attention Deficit Disorder Discrimination Lawsuit

Attorneys with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a June 30, 2009 Press Release that a federally funded housing complex in Brooklyn will pay $70,000.00 to a former employee to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC.  According to the Press Release, the lawsuit charged that the company refused to promote the employee to a permanent position of operating mechanic because he has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) even though, as the EEOC stated, the employee performed well as an apprentice from December 2000 to August 2004 and was the most senior apprentice who applied for the position. See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-30-09.html .  The EEOC asserted that he was denied the promotion because of his ADD and related learning disability and was terminated following his completion of the company’s apprenticeship program.  An EEOC attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “The settlement should remind employers that they face severe penalties when they violate the Americans With Disabilities Act or other EEOC-enforced laws.”  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Whether workplace disability bias occurs in Beaumont, Freeport, Port Arthur or elsewhere, victims of employment related disability discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.