In a June 17, 2011 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/6-17-11.cfm , the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that an engineering firm based in Beaumont, Texas agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC attorneys by paying $100,000 and providing additional remedial relief.  According to the EEOC, the Beaumont company unlawfully fired an employee because it mistakenly assumed he had multiple sclerosis (MS) that would substantially limit his ability to work.  Filed in the Beaumont Division for the Eastern District of Texas, the EEOC lawsuit claimed that a regional safety supervisor for the company’s Beaumont facility began experiencing numbness and tingling in his extremities soon after starting his job at the engineering firm.  The employee sought medical tests to determine the cause of his symptons and informed his immediate supervisor.  He also told the regional safety manager that the doctors believed he may have MS.

As stated in the EEOC Press Release, the regional safety manager recruited someone else  for the employee’s position and urged the employee to take medical leave, telling him that MS is very debilitating and that he did not think the company would want to deal with his disease.  The employee followed the supervisor’s advice and took medical leave, but, when he obtained from his doctor a full medical clearance to return to work without any restrictions, the Beaumont company’s human resources manager refused to honor it, stating that the employee’s position was no longer available, despite the fact that it was available and remained so until the company hired someone else for the position approximately two weeks later.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects workers against employment discrimination because of perceived disabilities as well as actual disabilities.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination whether it occurs in Beaumont or elsewhere.  More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov . 

Employees subjected to employment related disability discrimination in Beaumont or elsewhere may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if the particular circumstances and facts of their potential discrimination claim warrant filing of a charge of disability discrimination.

In a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a convenience store in Wisconsin is charged with violating the civil rights of an employee who was fired because of her disabilities.  According to a May 25, 2011 EEOC Press Release, EEOC attorneys contend that the company fired the female employee because she left the workplace to seek medical attention for medical conditions, including panic attacks and interstitial familial pulmonary fibrosis.  See EEOC posting at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/5-25-11b.cfm .  An EEOC director was quoted as saying: “No employer can force upon any disabled employee the impossible choice between necessary medical treatment and his or her job.”  In this case, EEOC attorneys assert that the convenience store apparently fired the disabled woman since she had medical conditions, but everyone in the U. S. gets an opportunity to make a living, regardless of disabilities.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting disability discrimination.  More information about the EEOC may be found at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether unlawful employment-related medical condition terminations occur in Beaumont, Houston, or elsewhere, employees fired because they have medical conditions and need to see their doctor can contact the EEOC and an attorney to discuss filing disability discrimination charges and a disability discrimination lawsuit.

A company based in Goldthwaite, Texas is the target of a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawyers in Iowa, according to an April 6, 2011 EEOC Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/4-6-11b.cfm .  As described in the Press Release, the Goldthwaite, Texas company is charged with subjecting a group of 31 men with intellectual disabilities to severe abuse and discrimination for more than 20 years.  Filed in the Southern District of Iowa, the disability discrimination lawsuit contends that the company exploited these workers at an Iowa turkey processing plant because their intellectual capabilities made the men particularly vulnerable and unaware of the extent to which their legal rights were being denied.  More specifically, the EEOC asserts that the workers were denied lawful wages and subjected to verbal abuse, including references to them as retarded and stupid, as well as physical abuse, including physical contact such as hitting and kicking. 

Such alleged workplace misconduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAA), which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, including intellectual disabilities, in terms and conditions of employment and wages; and bars disability based harassment.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency charged with enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including disability harassment.  More information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

The lawsuit follows an EEOC Commission meeting held March 15, 2011, that explored the issue of discrimination on the basis of mental disabilities.  On March 24, the EEOC issued its final regulations interpreting the ADAA, which simplified the determination of who has a “disability” and made it easier for people to establish that they are protected by the ADA. 

Whether workplace mental disability harassment occurs in Texas or elsewhere, employees subjected to verbal ridicule and physical abuse because of intellectual disabilities may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine whether a mental disability discrimination and harassment lawsuit is appropriate in Texas or elsewhere under the facts and circumstances of their potential employment discrimination claim.

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.