In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/rlease/3-18-10b.cfm , the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a federal district judge in Madison, Wisconsin entered a consent decree resolving an employment discrimination lawsuit against an egg processing company charged with unlawfully firing a production employee because of her epilepsy despite her ability to perform the essential functions of her job.  According to the March 18, 2010 press release, the company will pay $50,000 and provide other remedial relief.  EEOC trial lawyers charged in the lawsuit that the company violated the American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) when it fired the employee because of epilepsy.

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-18-10a.cfm , the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that a nationwide temporary employment agency will pay $75,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC lawyers.  According to the March 18, 2010 press release, EEOC lawyers charged that the company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to refer a deaf applicant for temporary employment as a production worker at a food products manufacturer.  The EEOC said that on two occasions, a company staffing specialist decided not to refer the applicant to the food products business because he is deaf, despite his meeting all the actual qualifications for the job.  In this regard, the EEOC asserted that evidence it obtained indicated that hearing ability was not a requirement of the food production job, and, as stated in the press release, workplace noise required a number of employees there to wear ear protection that prevented them from hearing while working.  An EEOC lawyer quoted in the press release said, in part, that “Decisions made by agencies concerning whether to refer a job applicant must be based on qualifications, period - not on the basis of disability.”

The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC and the laws it enforces may be found in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether workplace disability discrimination against the deaf or hearing impaired occurs in Beaumont, Conroe, Houston or elsewhere, victims may contact the EEOC and a lawyer to determine if an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential disability discrimination claim.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a March 3, 2010 news release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-3-10a.cfm that it has settled a disability discrimination lawsuit against a car dealership, resulting in a $32,500 payment to a job applicant and other relief to remedy alleged disability discrimination.  According to the news release, EEOC attorneys charged in the case that the car dealership dopped a job offer after drug test results revealed use of prescription medication.  More specifically, EEOC attorneys asserted that the car dealership reneged on an offer to hire a job applicant as a salesperson only after a urine test revealed he was taking prescribed medication.  The car dealership then erroneously perceived the applicant as too disabled to do the job despite normal medical results and medical authorization to the contrary, the EEOC said.  EEOC attorneys argued that the conduct was in direct violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including discrimination based upon perceived disabilities.  EEOC attorneys filed the employment discrimination lawsuit in February 2009 on the applicant’s behalf after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including discrimination based upon disability.  In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-8-10.cfm , EEOC lawyers announced filing of a federal employment discrimination lawsuit against a global manufacturing company which the EEOC alleges violated federal law when it refused to hire an employee for a full-time position as a process technician because of her gender and because she is the mother of a disabled child.  According to the February 8, 2010 press release, the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to hire the mother of a disabled child for a full-time position in 2007.  EEOC lawyers contend in the case that the disabled child’s mother had worked at a company facility as a part-time process associate for four years but was refused a full-time position due to concerns about her ability to work full-time and care for a disabled child.  The EEOC asserted that the company’s conduct violated the ADA, which protects employees from discrimination based on association with people with disabilities, and Title VII, which prohibits discrimination based upon sex. 

An EEOC lawyer quoted in the press release stated that “Under the ADA and Title VII, employers cannot make employment decisions based on stereotypical assumptions that a female employee with a disabled child would have to miss work or could not perform the job because the employee provides care for a disabled person.”  EEOC lawyers filed the employment discrimination lawsuit after first attempting to reach a voluntary out of court settlement with the company.  Further information about the EEOC and the laws it enforces is available at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether employment related discrimination against individuals associated with a disabled person or child occurs in Conroe, Houston, Texas City or elsewhere, victims of ADA discrimination may contact the EEOC and a lawyer to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential unlawful employment practice claim.

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-10-10b.cfm , lawyers with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a major financial holding company will pay $24,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC lawyers on behalf of a hearing impaired employee who was allegedly denied a reasonable accommodation to which she was entitled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  According to the press release, EEOC lawyers charged in the disability discrimination lawsuit that the woman, a senior teller at a branch bank, was denied a transfer to a vacant position for which she was qualified and as a result, was forced to resign.  As further stated in the press release, EEOC lawyers alleged that she was denied reassignment to other vacant positions in which her hearing loss would not limit her ability to perform her job. 

The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  An EEOC lawyer quoted in the press release stated, in part, that “Under federal law, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations to enable disabled workers to perform their jobs unless doing so would pose an undue hardship on the employer.”  EEOC lawyers settled the disability discrimination lawsuit when both parties reached an agreement during a court-hosted settlement conference.  More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .   

Whether employment related hearing loss or hearing impairment discrimination occurs in Conroe, Houston, Texas City or elsewhere, victims of hearing loss discrimination may contact the EEOC or a lawyer to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

In a Press Release at http://www.justice.gov , lawyers with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination lawsuit against the owners and operators of an Alabama RV Resort.  According to the January 19, 2010 DOJ Press Release, lawyers charged that the company violated Title III of the ADA when it unlawfully denied full and equal services to a child and his family because the child has HIV.  More specifically, the complaint alleged that the company, upon learning that a guest family’s two-year-old child had HIV, banned the family from using the common areas of the RV resort, such as the swimming pools and showers.  As stated in the Press Release, the family left the RV resort after the company denied them full use of the facilities. 

Under the terms of the consent decree, the company will establish policies, procedures and training practices to ensure that patrons and their families are not discriminated against on the basis of disability.  In addition, the company will pay a civil penalty to the United States and $36,000 in damages to the affected family.

Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations from excluding people with disabilities, including people with HIV, from enjoying the services, goods, and accommodations provided by the public accommodation.  In this regard, those interested in finding out more about federal disability rights statutes can call the Justice Department’s toll free ADA Information Line at 1(800)514-0301 or 1(800)514-0383, or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov .

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) attorneys filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a medical transcription company alleging that the company violated federal law when it refused to hire a medical transcriptionist to a full time job because of its stereotypes about people with multiple sclerosis.  According to the EEOC’s October 9, 2009 Press Release, agency attorneys charge that the company denied a full time position to a woman with multiple sclerosis, saying they did not want to “stress her out” with the responsibilities of a full time position, even though she had worked at the company for several years and was regularly assigned to work more than 60 hours a week as a part-time editor.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/10-9-09e.html .  As stated in Press Release, the employee had nearly 20 years as a medical transcriptionist and as an editor and was physically capable and willing to perform the duties.  However, the EEOC contends that the company ignored her requests for a full time job and hired other persons with less experience.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (”ADA”) makes it unlawful to discriminate against a qualified individual because of a disability, and, in this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace disability bias.  In fiscal year 2008, disability based charges rose to a record 19,543, up 10.2% from the prior year and the highest level since 1995.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether unlawful workplace disability discrimination against individuals with multiple sclerosis occurs in Houston or elsewhere, multiple sclerosis bias victims may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a multiple sclerosis disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential employment discrimination claim.

Failing to make reasonable accommodations for the physical limitations of a qualified individual with a disability or terminating an individual because of that disability violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (”ADA”), and the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  In an October 9, 2009 EEOC Oxford, Mississippi Press Release, the federal agency announced that a casino operating in Robinsonville, Mississippi will pay $75,000.00 and furnish other relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC attorneys in Mississippi.  According to the EEOC Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/10-9-09b.html , EEOC attorneys charged in the discrimination lawsuit that the company denied one of its dealers a reasonable accommodation for her physical limitations which were sustained as a result of an auto accident.  In this regard, the EEOC said that the employee was perfectly capable of doing her job, but needed to sit while doing so.  As stated in the Press Release, the company fired the employee instead of making that accommodation.  An attorney with the EEOC’s Memphis District Office was quoted as saying that “This case emphasizes the necessity of employers training their decision makers about the rights their employees have under the [ADA].”  Further information about the EEOC and the federal laws it enforces may be found in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

The American Diabetes Association states in its website that diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.  See, http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp .  The American Diabetes Association reports that diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

In this regard, a Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-25-09g.html states that the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a major telephone company in which EEOC attorneys charge that the telephone company violated federal law by refusing to hire an applicant in Austin, Texas simply because he is an insulin-dependent diabetic.  According to the September 25, 2009 Press Release, EEOC attorneys claim in the case that the 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.  As stated in the Press Release, the applicant indisputably had the necessary experience and expertise to perform the job and had previously safely performed a similar job for the company for many years after he was diagnosed with diabetes.  After the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office determined the company had violated the law, EEOC attorneys filed the discrimination lawsuit in Austin once the EEOC first attempted to reach a voluntary out of court settlement.  An EEOC trial attorney in the San Antonio Field Office was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Hiring decisions should be based on an applicant’s qualifications and not on myths, fears and stereotypes about actual or perceived disabilities related to diabetes and insulin use.” 

The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination related to, for example, diabetes.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .  Whether diabetes related employment discrimination occurs in Austin, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of diabetes associated discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential diabetes discrimination claim.

A Houston, Texas based home decor retail company has been sued by attorneys with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) for allegedly violating federal law by discriminating against hearing impaired applicants at its Austin store, according to a September 25, 2009 EEOC Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-25-09h.html .  As stated in the EEOC Press Release, attorneys charge in the disability discrimination lawsuit that the Houston company failed to hire two applicants for stocker positions in its Austin store based upon their deafness.  The EEOC contends that simply eliminating deaf job applicants from consideration, without even attempting an accommodation, is unfair and unlawful.  In this regard, refusing to hire a qualfied individual because of his or her disability violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (”ADA”).  An EEOC San Antonio Field Office trial attorney was quoted in the Press Release, saying that the EEOC is committed to preventing disability discrimination in the workplace.  Another EEOC San Antonio Field Office trial attorney added that “An employer must make reasonable accommodation to the known physical limitations of a qualified applicant with a disability unless it can show that the accommodation would cause an undue hardship.” 

The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination against deaf or hearing impaired employees and job applicants.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether employment related disability discrimination against the deaf or hearing impaired occurs in Austin, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, deaf or hearing impaired victims of employment discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential discrimination claim.