Agropur Agrees to Pay $79,000 to Resolve EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
The EEOC charged that Agropur violated federal law at its Grand Rapids, Michigan plant by failing to provide an employee with a disability with a reasonable accommodation, which resulted in her discharge.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Agropur refused to accommodate the employee’s severe dyshidrotic eczema, a skin condition. While working for Agropur, the employee learned she was allergic to rubber and plastics. She requested a reasonable accommodation, including the ability to wear a different type of glove while working. Instead of accommodating the employee, Agropur forced her to leave work when she had flare-ups, the EEOC said. When she left work, she was penalized by receiving attendance points. Ultimately, the EEOC said, Agropur fired her after she had accumulated attendance points that accrued as a direct result of the company’s failure to provide her with a reasonable accommodation.
Justice Department Expands Arizona Lawsuit Alleging Disability Discrimination in Access to Surgical Care
The Justice Department filed an amended complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona to add American Vision Partners (AVP) as a co-defendant in the department’s lawsuit against Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center (BDP). The amended complaint alleges that AVP and BDP discriminate against patients who, because of their disabilities, need assistance transferring from their wheelchairs for eye surgery. AVP provides management, training, policies and guidance, staff, infrastructure and technology to BDP and other eye care medical practices with nearly 80 facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas.
In its original complaint, the department alleged that BDP required patients with disabilities who need transfer assistance to use and pay for third party medical transport and transfer assistance as a condition of surgery, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The amended complaint adds allegations that AVP and BDP have also denied eye surgery outright to patients who need transfer assistance.
S&C Electric Company to Pay $315,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
S&C Electric Company, a designer and manufacturer of switching and control products for power transmission and distribution headquartered in Chicago, will pay $315,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s suit, a principal designer who worked at S&C for over 52 years was diagnosed with cancer and later sustained a broken hip, for which he took medical leave. Following a long journey toward healing, the employee sought to return to his former position. The employee, who lived and worked in Chicago, provided numerous doctors’ notes indicating that he was fit to return to his former position, which was mostly sedentary. S&C decided, however, to fire him rather than permitting him to return to work following a perfunctory medical examination by an S&C contracted doctor.