EEOC Issues Updated Covid-19 Technical Assistance Publication
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The publication, "What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws" expands on a previous publication that focused on the ADA and Rehabilitation Act, and adds questions-and-answers on testing, medical exams, and essential workers.
U.S. Civil Rights Agency Says Employers Can Test Workers for COVID-19
The U.S. agency that enforces civil rights laws against disability discrimination said on Thursday that companies can test employees for COVID-19 before permitting them to enter the workplace as long as the tests are accurate and reliable.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last month said employers may take workers' temperatures without violating the the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but Thursday's guidance appears to authorize a broader array of testing options.
The commission said mandatory medical testing, which is generally prohibited by the ADA, is allowed if it is "job related and consistent with business necessity."
Applying that standard, the new guidance allows employers to take steps to determine if employees entering the workplace have COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, because the virus poses a "direct threat" to the health of others.
IDEC Corporation to Pay $275,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Illinois Manufacturer Unlawfully Fired Employee It Regarded as Disabled, Federal Agency Charged
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, IDEC engaged in unlawful discrimination at its East Dundee, Ill., location when it terminated an employee because it perceived the employee to have disabling impairments, including sleep apnea and a heart condition.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against employees with actual or perceived disabilities. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago (EEOC v. IDEC Corp., Civil Action No. 18-cv-4168) in June 2018, after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement through the EEOC's pre-lawsuit conciliation process.
Under the two-and-a-half-year consent decree settling the suit, agreed to by the parties and entered by the court, IDEC will pay $275,000 to the former employee's estate and attorney. The decree further mandates that IDEC train its East Dundee employees on the ADA's protections and report to the EEOC all future complaints of disability discrimination as well as requests by employees for workplace accommodation of disabilities that IDEC denies.
"Firing people because of perceived disabilities is just as serious a violation of the ADA as firing people for their actual impairments," said Gregory Gochanour, the EEOC's regional attorney in Chicago. "Unfortunately, many employers continue to run afoul of the ADA's broad employee protections. As long as they do, the EEOC will continue to litigate these cases."
American Security Insurance Company Will Pay $49,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
Insurance Company Unlawfully Fired Longtime Employee Based on Her Diabetes, Federal Agency Charged
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Donna Stephens worked for the company as a senior processing clerk for almost 23 years. As a result of complications with Type 2 diabetes, Stephens requested permission to work from home as an accommodation. Despite granting Stephens's accommodation request, however, Stephens's supervisor constantly chastised her for teleworking, criticized her performance without basis, and ultimately fired her.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on an employee's disability. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 1:19-CV-3411-AT-JKL) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to providing monetary damages to Stephens, the 18-month consent decree settling the lawsuit requires American Security Insurance to distribute its anti-discrimination policy to all employees, provide equal employment opportunity training to key management and supervisory officials, and report to the EEOC on its compliance with the consent decree, including how it will handle future discrimination complaints in its Duluth, Georgia facility.
Pinehurst CC Facing ADA Complaint
A group calling itself the Pinehurst No. 4 Action Committee has filed a formal complaint against Pinehurst Country Club alleging its cart policy at its No. 4 course violates the American with Disabilities Act.
According to paperwork submitted Wednesday to the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the group states it has discussed its concerns with resort management, “but they have refused to comply with the law.”
How eCommerce Store Owners Can Help Persons with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Crisis
The effects of the COVID-19 are devastating: people are forced to stay at home, brick-and-mortar stores are compelled to close, and the mass hysteria strikes fear in just about anyone.
This has led to people experiencing an onslaught of challenges and headaches, especially since the crisis came at such a sudden pace — leaving people unprepared for the catastrophe.
The persons with disabilities (PWDs), for example, are among the group of people that are hit especially hard due to the crisis.
While most people can do their shopping online and be able to obtain their necessities, PWDs struggle with even the most basic act of navigating a website — all because the eCommerce site they’re on isn’t fully accessible.
If PWDs remain unable to read vital information, order food and medicine, and do other things online, this crisis leaves them even more vulnerable.
As an eCommerce store owner, you can help improve your disabled customers’ lives and meet their needs from your shop more handily (and in doing so, thrive during this COVID-19 outbreak).