Golden Corral Franchisee to Pay $85,000 to Settle EEOC Disability and Sex Harassment Lawsuit
Jax, LLC, which operates a Golden Corral restaurant in Matthews, N.C., has agreed to pay $85,000 and provide other relief to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Jax discriminated against an employee when it subjected him to a hostile work environment based on both his disability (autism) and his sex (male). The EEOC had also charged that the employee was forced to resign because of the harassment.
According to the EEOC's suit, Sean Fernandez worked as a dishwasher at the Matthews Golden Corral. Fernandez has high-functioning autism, which limits his ability to communicate and interact with others. The EEOC alleged that, from around March or April 2014 until January 2016, a male assistant manager created a hostile work environment by repeatedly referring to Fernandez as "retard," calling him "stupid," and using profanity. The assistant manager also asked for oral sex from Fernandez, threatened to sexually assault him, and subjected him to unwanted physical contact, the EEOC said. Fernandez filed a complaint with the general and district managers, but the company failed to take effective action to prevent and correct the hostile work environment. Fernandez resigned his employment because he was fearful of encountering the assistant manager again, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects employees from discrimination based on their disabilities, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division (EEOC v. Jax, LLC d/b/a Golden Corral, Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-535) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to providing monetary relief to Fernandez, Jax, LLC entered into a two-year consent decree requiring the company to implement an anti-discrimination policy that prohibits disability-based and sex-based discrimination. The decree further requires the company to conduct annual training for its Matthews employees and managers on the ADA and Title VII. Jax must also post an employee notice about the lawsuit and about employee rights under federal anti-discrimination laws at its Matthews facility, and must provide periodic reports to the EEOC.
Associated Fresh Market to Pay $832,500 to Resolve EEOC Disability Discrimination Allegations
A Salt Lake City-based grocery store chain will pay $832,500 to resolve a group of disability discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced yesterday.
The EEOC's investigation revealed that a qualified individual with a disability and a group of other aggrieved individuals with medical conditions were denied reasonable accommodations to perform their jobs. These accommodations include additional leave, working with restrictions and reassignment. The investigation revealed a practice of disciplining and/or firing employees because of their need for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Pacific Bell Settles Disability Discrimination Lawsuit with EEOC
Pacific Bell Telephone Company, formerly known as AT&T Pacific Bell, will pay $15,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced yesterday.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Pacific Bell violated federal law when it did not effectively accommodate a deaf employee at its Fresno, Calif., location. Despite the employee's numerous requests for a sign language interpreter, managers chose to provide inadequate accommodations for the worker by standing close to him during meetings so he could read their lips, or by jotting down notes explaining the contents of the meeting after the fact. The EEOC contends that such behavior deprived the worker of equal employment opportunities, privileges and benefits of employment, which negatively affected him as an employee.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (EEOC v. AT&T Pacific Bell Telephone Company, Case No. 1:17-cv-01059-LJO-EPG) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
Oncor Sued for Disability Discrimination and Mandatory Medication Disclosure Policy
Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC violated federal law by terminating a data entry clerk who would not agree to abide by a medication disclosure policy that oversteps employees' rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today in federal court. The employee was required to sign a document promising to reveal all medications that "could" affect her job performance. When she refused, she was sent home and ultimately received a termination letter in the mail, the EEOC said.
Dignity Health Sued by EEOC For Disability Discrimination
Dignity Health, operating Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Calif., violated federal law when it refused to provide accommodations to allow a 10-year employee to return to work after she suffered a sudden loss of vision, and instead fired her by selectively applying a previously unused vision requirement, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed on 7/11/2018.
Werner Enterprises Sued by EEOC For Disability Discrimination in Hiring
Nebraska Trucking Company Also Made Unlawful Pre-Offer Disability-Related Inquiries, Federal Agency Charges
EEOC Sues Pulmonary Specialists of Tyler And Sleep Health for Disability Discrimination
ADA Violated With Unlawful Medical Inquiry and Termination, Federal Agency Charges
How the Americans with Disabilities Act Affects Colleges
National Review
If you ever need to show how laws can have unintended consequences, the Americans with Disabilities Act is as good as any. That big, gooey glob of feel-goodism has been messing up the country ever since Bush 41 signed it into law.
In today’s Martin Center article, Garland Tucker points out that it has had a big impact on our colleges and universities. An astonishing 21.9 percent of freshmen enter with some claimed disability now. Do we really have so many “disabled” students on our campuses? No — they are just gaming the system. It’s very easy to claim “disability” under the law and schools just tie themselves up in costly bureaucratic procedures if they contest such claims, so they hardly ever do.
Employers Often Designate Leave as FMLA Despite Objections
SHRM
Employees eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) might want to decline FMLA leave for a variety of reasons, but employers often can designate the time off as FMLA anyway. That's not the case, though, in jurisdictions covered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the employer must allow the employee to decline to take FMLA leave, noted Melanie Pate, an attorney with Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Phoenix. The 9th Circuit encompasses Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon and Washington.
Family business speaks out after two ADA lawsuits
The Daily Post
second Palo Alto motel in two months has been hit with a lawsuit by Scott Johnson, a quadriplegic attorney who has sued hundreds of California businesses over disability access violations.
In his lawsuits, Johnson cites state civil rights law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA.
Johnson filed the suit against the Country Inn Motel in April, claiming that a lemon tree illegally encroached into the motel’s parking access aisle for wheelchair-accessible vans, the motel’s handicap parking signs didn’t include the phrase “Minimum Fine $250” and its wheelchair-accessible rooms had a pullout couch rather than a second bed.
Walmart shopper accuses employee of harassing her about service dog
Yahoo Entertainment
Walmart has issued an apology after a woman said she was verbally harassed about shopping with a service dog in its Spanish Fork, Utah, store.
Salt Lake City’s KUTV news channel reports that Ashley Fitzpatrick was confronted by an unidentified store employee on Monday because her service dog, Kona, was not on a leash. Fitzpatrick said that the animal’s training requires that she remain off-leash.
She also said the employee expressed doubt that she had a disability requiring a service dog. Fitzpatrick has anxiety and depression, and credits Kona, who is trained to perform pressure therapy, with helping to curb panic attacks and boost her confidence.
“Even though it’s a mental disability, it’s just as debilitating,” Fitzpatrick, who has been working with Kona for about a year and a half, told KUTV.
“There have been weeks where I haven’t left the house, and now it’s to the point where I’m out every day,” she said.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that service animals can be untethered if “these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices.” The owner is then expected to use other cues — such as a command or hand signal — to control and communicate with the animal.
Bans on plastic straws are the latest policy to forget the disability community [Opinion]
Houston Chronicle
I was about to enjoy my morning cup of tea at my favorite coffee shop when I realized there were no plastic straws. For most people, this would be a minor annoyance or inconvenience. For me, a disabled person, no straw means no drink — if I try drinking my tea without a straw, I risk choking or burning myself with the hot liquid. Unwilling to take the risk, I offered the tea to my friend.