On September 4, 2009, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced filing of a federal disability discrimination lawsuit against a company for allegedly refusing to accommodate a pharmacy worker with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD, and severe allergic reactions to cosmetic fragrances.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-4-09.html .  EEOC attorneys filed the lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act, charging that the company denied the request of an employee with COPD that her co-workers in the pharmacy be asked not to wear fragrances, such as cologne and after-shave, while working in the pharmacy with her.  According to the Press Release, the employee required the use of supplemental oxygen from a portable tank at work, and once passed out in the workplace and was taken to a hospital by ambulance because of a severe allergic reaction to a co-worker’s fragrance.

In a September 3, 2009 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-3-09.html , the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced that it filed a federal disability discrimination lawsuit against an international coffee company in which EEOC attorneys allege that the company refused to hire an applicant for a barista position because of his multiple sclerosis or MS.  According to the EEOC Press Release, the coffee company advertised six openings at an Arkansas store, and an applicant with multiple sclerosis was not contacted for an interview but showed up at the store for an interview anyway and was allegedly treated differently from other interviewees because of his multiple sclerosis.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination that violates the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a September 1, 2009 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-1-09a.html that it filed a federal disability discrimination lawsuit against a contract manufacturer in Minnesota, alleging that the company violated federal law by its policies requiring employees to report their use of legal prescription medication.  According to the EEOC Press Release, EEOC attorneys charge in the lawsuit that the company fired a long time employee because he was taking a low-dosage, prescribed narcotic medication for back pain.  As indicated in the Press Release, EEOC attorneys contend that the company perceived the employee as being disabled solely because he was taking the medication, and failed to consider his ability to perform the job.  In addition, the EEOC lawsuit claims that the company required all employees to report whether they were taking any prescription or over the counter medication and this policy violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in an August 27, 2009 Press Release that it has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) against an Oregon based funeral services company for allegedly refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a secretary with a prosthetic leg and instead firing her because she needed to use a wheelchair.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-27-09.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the plaintiff successfully worked at the company as a secretary for a year and nine months while using a prosthetic leg, but when her prosthetic leg failed, she had to use a wheelchair.  EEOC attorneys charge in the case that her employer refused to allow her to return to work and eventually fired her, claiming that she would not be able to carry out her duties in a wheelchair and that having an employee in a wheelchair would upset customers attending funeral services.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the lawsuit Press Release said “Firing a hard-working individual … simply because she required use of a wheelchair to do her job is inexcusable, and a true loss for all involved.”  The EEOC attorney added “The stereotyping this company engaged in is exactly the type of behavior the ADA is meant to prevent.”  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in an August 26, 2009 Press Release that a restaurant in Lucedale, Mississippi will pay $22,000.00 in compensatory damages and furnish remedial relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC attorneys in Mississippi.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-26-09d.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the federal agency had charged that the company unlawfully fired an employee after learning she had experienced an epileptic seizure at home.  As stated in the Press Release, the Lucedale fast food restaurant terminated her after she presented a return-to-work slip which revealed her condition, saying it was unsafe for her to work in the restaurant around knives, ovens and other equipment due to her medical condition.  However, the EEOC alleged that she had several years of experience working in fast food restaurants and the company made no effort to determine whether her medical condition would restrict or impede her ability to work.  Further, the EEOC contended that the company made no effort at providing a reasonable accommodation.   An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said the employee “was performing her job successfully and should not have been fired.”  In this regard, the Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits employers from making employment decisions that are based on misconceptions, assumptions or beliefs about an individual’s medical condition, and the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including work-related disability discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The Arthritis Foundation offers information to the public concerning arthritis, stating in its website that arthritis is often referred to as if it were a single disease.  However, arthritis is actually an umbrella term used for a group of more than 100 medical conditions which collectively affect nearly 46 million adults and 300,00 children in America alone.  See, http://www.arthritis.org/what-is-arthritis.php .  Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis.  Basically, the common thread among these 100-plus conditions is that they all affect the musculoskeletal system and specifically the joints - where two or more bones meet.  Symptoms can include pain, stiffness, inflammation and damage to joint cartilage and surrounding structures.  The Foundation indicates that arthritis-related conditions primarily affect the muscles and bones and can impact basic daily activities like using a computer keyboard, cutting food and walking.

In this regard, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in an August 26, 2009 Press Release that it filed a federal disability discrimination lawsuit against an airline.  More specifically, the EEOC lawsuit charges that the airline violated federal law by firing a flight operations clerk on the basis of her disability, left knee arthritis.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-26-09c.html .  As stated in the Press Release, EEOC attorneys claim in the case that the company fired an employee because the company believed she walked too slowly.  According to the Press Release, the employee developed pain in her left knee a few weeks after she was hired and was eventually diagnosed with arthritis.  The EEOC said she was able to continue working despite walking with a limp and using a cane for assistance.  In addition, the Press Release describes her work duties as involving administrative tasks which required her to sit at a desk the majority of the time, though she did perform some duties which required her to walk between concourses at an airport.  Nevertheless, the company fired her.  The agency said this type of alleged conduct violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of disability.  For its own part, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination.  An EEOC trial attorney quoted in the Press Release said “Federal law protects people from discrimination on the basis of disability [and] companies are not entitled to allow ill-conceived perceptions of disabilities to guide their personnel decisions.” 

Further information about the EEOC and disability discrimination is available in the federal agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

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

United Cerebral Palsy  (”UCP”) is a leading source of information on cerebral palsy or CP.  United Cerebral Palsy’s mission is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities.  According to the UCP website at http://www.ucp.org , cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination.  It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during fetal development; before, during, or shortly after birth; or during infancy.  Thus, these disorders are not caused by problems in the muscles or nerves.  Instead, faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain disrupt the brain’s ability to adequately control movement and posture.  Although CP is not “curable” in the accepted sense, training and therapy can help improve function.

For its own part, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability discrimination in the workplace.  In an August 24, 2009 Press Release, the EEOC announced that it has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against a national retailer, charging that the company unlawfully denied a reasonable accommodation to an employee with cerebral palsy and limited intellectual functioning.  As stated in the EEOC Press Release, the disabled worker could not effectively communicate with others without the assistance of a job coach, and EEOC attorneys claim that the company compelled the employee to attend in-person meetings involving work issues alone without the assistance of a job coach or parent, even though repeated requests had allegedly been made by the job coaches and parents to be in attendance at the meetings. See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-24-09.html .  The Press Release also said that the company hired this employee with full knoweldge of his disabilities and need for a reasonable accommodation.  Such alleged conduct violates Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.  An EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said that the case was particularly disturbing because the company “already knew this employee was disabled and needed assistance with communicating during in-person meetings [and] … the employee in this case was qualified and motivated to work …” 

Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/ states that cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease which affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States.  The Foundation further states that a defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus which clogs the lungs and obstructs the pancreas, leading to life threatening lung infections and stopping natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.  About 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace related disability discrimination.  In an August 17, 2009 EEOC Press Release, agency attorneys announced that a California based go-kart racing operation will provide $50,000.00 and other relief to settle a federal lawsuit charging that the company refused to accommodate an employee with cystic fibrosis and fired him.  According to the Press Release, a company representative brushed off the employee’s need for an accommodation in order to do his job, stating he didn’t care and didn’t want to hear about his “lung thing.”  The company eventually fired the employee.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-17-09.html .  Disability discrimination violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ disabilities as long as this does not pose an undue hardship on the business.

Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

The Epilepsy Foundation describes epilepsy as a medical condition which produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions, saying it is also called seizure disorder.  The prevalence and incidence of epilepsy is said to affect almost 3 million people in the United States, with about 200,000 new cases of seizure disorders and epilepsy being diagnosed each year, according to information provided by the Foundation.  See, http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org .  With respect to epilepsy and workplace discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in an August 19, 2009 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-19-09.html that the St. Louis Rams, a National Football League franchise, have agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit for $134,000.00 and important remedial relief.  According to the EEOC Press Release, attorneys with the federal agency brought the disability discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a long-term employee with a seizure disorder.  In this regard, EEOC attorneys charged in the lawsuit that the employee was an assistant trainer who had epilepsy during his entire 11 year tenure with the team before he was fired.  As stated in the Press Release, the EEOC alleged that he had successfully performed his job until team management, in June 2006, claimed he was a medical liability and posed a threat to his own safety and that of coworkers.  A St. Louis EEOC attorney quoted in the Press Release said “The St. Louis Rams, one of the most well-known and prestigious employers in our city, have a legal obligation under the ADA to provide a workplace free from disability discrimination.”  For further information about the EEOC, visit the federal agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

The Acting Assistant Attorney General for the U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) Civil Rights Division is quoted in an August 13, 2009 DOJ Press Release as saying “Persons with disabilities who live in retirement communities are entitled to the protections of the Fair Housing Act.”  In this regard, the DOJ Press Release announced that the operator and manager of an Evansville, Indiana retirement community has agreed to pay up to $116,000.00 to resolve a housing discrimination lawsuit in which DOJ attorneys alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting the use of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in residents’ apartments and in the home’s common dining room during meals.  According to the Press Release, the lawsuit originated when two former residents of the retirement community filed separate complaints with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (”HUD”) which, after an investigation, determined there was reasonable cause to believe that unlawful housing discrimination had occurred.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/August/09-crt-799.html .  As described in the DOJ Press Release, the federal Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.  Another attorney quoted in the Press Release stated “This enforcement action provides yet another real-life example of our commitment to support the rights of persons with disabilities.”  Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line (1-800-896-7743), email the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.