Tumor Disability Discrimination

Attorneys with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced in a June 4, 2009 EEOC Press Release that the federal agency filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a Chicago based global air carrier alleging that the company discriminated against a class of employees with disabilites by failing to provide job transfers to vacant positions, despite their qualifications, as a reasonable accommodation.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/6-4-09.html .  According to the EEOC Press Release, the lead class member worked as an airline mechanic for the company at the San Francisco Airport for over a decade before being diagnosed with a brain tumor, causing him to take leave and seek medical treatment.  When he returned to work, he could not be accommodated in his position as a mechanic, so he applied for a number of vacant positions for which he was qualified.  The Americans With Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, and, under the statute, the EEOC says that reasonable accommodations specifically include reassignment to a vacant position.  However, instead of providing such an accommodation to him, the EEOC charges that the company violated the statute by rejecting him for all the positions he had applied for, even though he was qualified for those jobs.  The Press Release states that he was eventually placed on extended, involuntary leave by the company until he retired late last year.  The Press Release further states that all of the class members shared similar experiences.  An attorney quoted in the EEOC Press Release added that “The ADA clearly requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation when an employee can no longer perform the original job because of a disability.”  The EEOC said it filed the federal discrimination lawsuit in California after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.  In this regard, the lawsuit seeks monetary damages on behalf of the affected class of employees, a court order to require the airline to change its policies to comply with the ADA, and ensuring the class members are reassigned to work in vacant jobs for which they are qualified.

During Fiscal Year 2008, disability discrimination charge filings with the EEOC nationwide rose to 19,453 - an increase of 10% from the prior fiscal year and the highest level in 14 years.  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether employment related disability bias occurs in Longview, Lockhart, Luling or elsewhere, victims of workplace disability bias may contact the EEOC and an attorney or lawyer to determine if a disability discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential disability discrimination claim.