All Star Priority Staffing Sued by EEOC For Disability Discrimination
All Star Priority Staffing, LLC, a Phoenix staffing agency, violated federal law by forcing applicants seeking temporary employment to fill out an invasive medical questionnaire and answer medical questions before job offers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed last week. The federal agency also charged the company with denying job opportunities to applicants based on their answers.
According to the EEOC's suit, All Star's application process required applicants to fill out a medical questionnaire that inquired into, among other things, the applicant's use of medications, history of illnesses, and whether the applicant has or had any current or previous injuries to various parts of the body. The EEOC further charged that All Star asked medical questions during the pre-offer interviews and then used the medical information obtained as the basis of denying employment opportunities.
EEOC Sues S&C Electric Co. for Age and Disability Discrimination
S&C Electric Co. in Chicago unlawfully fired an employee on the bases of age and disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.
The EEOC charges that S&C committed age and disability discrimination when it terminated Richard Rascher after he was released to return to work after taking an approved medical leave for cancer and a hip fracture. S&C fired Rascher, who was 74, after 52 years of service to the company, according to the EEOC.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), EEOC claims in its federal complaint. The ADA prohibits disability discrimination, and the ADEA prohibits age discrimination.
From ADA compliance to universal design: Creating accessible training
HR Dive
It could be the person you just hired, or that intern you're hosting this season. Or it may be the long-term employee who always completes tasks on time, but keeps to himself, never drawing management's attention.; Chances are, you know someone with a disability.
How can employers make sure that learning and development teams reach workers with disabilities? And how how can companies ensure that training complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) accessibility mandates?
First, it's important to think about the various impairments that may affect an employee's ability to participate in learning programs. This can range from hearing and vision impairments to more "invisible" disabilities, like those affecting learning.
EEOC files ADA discrimination lawsuit against shipyard
Daily Press
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Huntington Ingalls Industries, accusing the company of discriminating against a hearing-impaired man by not allowing him to wear his hearing aids during a pre-employment physical.
The man failed the hearing portion of the test, EEOC says, and was denied a job at Newport News Shipbuilding. HII is the shipyard’s parent company. EEOC says failing to hire the man is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act Requires Employers to Accommodate Breastfeeding Employees
The National Law Review
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a district court decision in favor of a police officer who argued that her employer failed to accommodate her so she could breastfeed.
In Hicks v. City of Tuscaloosa, officer Hicks requested an alternative duty upon her return from maternity leave. Normally, she was required to wear a bulletproof vest, but her doctor said that wearing the vest could cause infection and prevent her from breastfeeding. Hicks requested a duty that would not require the vest and resigned when her employer refused.
In finding for Hicks, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) barred discrimination not only on the basis of pregnancy, but also on the basis of pregnancy-related physiological conditions such as breastfeeding. The court compared Hicks’ situation to Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc.—the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that held the PDA bars employers from refusing to accommodate pregnant employees when they provide accommodations for similarly situated employees who are not pregnant. Since Hicks showed that her employer had provided alternative duties to employees with temporary injuries, the failure to provide Hicks with an alternative duty constituted pregnancy discrimination.
The key takeaway here is that even if an employee’s pregnancy does not constitute a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, she may be entitled to an accommodation under the PDA for her pregnancy—or a related condition.
Lexology
EEOC Sues Accuses Employer of Firing Worker With Breast Cancer In late August, the EEOC sued the Illinois Action for Children (IAC), alleging that the IAC unlawfully fired an employee who was out on leave for breast cancer treatment, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
This case highlights the danger of standing behind a strict leave policy and denying requests for leave extensions.
The plaintiff, Myrnie Brown, had worked for the IAC for two years, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and requested, and was granted, a leave that would span June through October 1, 2015. She later requested an extension of that leave to November when her doctor ordered follow-up treatments. IAC denied that extension and fired Brown.
Interestingly, Brown was eventually rehired, but had been out of a job for over 6 months. Clearly, the rehiring did not save the day for the IAC, as the EEOC contends that it failed to accommodate Brown by not considering an extension of the leave as a reasonable accommodation.
EEOC Chicago district regional attorney Greg Gochanour said, “Anyone suffering from breast cancer has enough to face and overcome without her employer violating federal law and denying her adequate leave to combat her illness. When such a situation sadly occurs, the EEOC is ready to step in and fight for people who are fighting discrimination as well as cancer.”
Two more plaintiffs join ADA lawsuit against Brookdale
McKnight's Senior Living
Two additional plaintiffs have joined a lawsuit claiming that Brookdale Senior Living did not accommodate California residents' disabilities and that understaffing led to their activities of daily living needs not being met.
Three law firms in California filed their original complaint in July with four plaintiffs, planning to ask that it be certified as a class action. They said at the time that it could be the first class-action lawsuit against an assisted living operator to be brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act.