Deaf Employee Discrimination Lawsuit

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.