Assisted Living Facility Pays $80,000 To Former Employee After Retaliation, Disability Discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently won a lawsuit against VibraLife of Katy, LLC, a rehabilitation and assisted living facility in Texas. According to the terms of the settlement, VibraLife will pay a former employee $80,000 and furnish other relief to settle the suit filed by the EEOC on behalf of a disabled employee.
According to the lawsuit, VibraLife hired an employee with a sleep disorder for a night shift position. The job posting required the selected candidate to work 36 hours per week in three 12-hour shifts. Once the employee began her position, she was notified that she would be required to work a fourth 12-hour shift every other week. The suit alleges that the employee promptly requested an accommodation that her schedule be limited to the express terms of the job posting due to her disability. Promptly after receiving the employee’s requisition for a reasonable accommodation, the employee was demoted first and then fired.
The EEOC contends that this alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which expressly prohibits disability discrimination and retaliation against employees with disabilities. The law further requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees who suffer from disabilities upon request. Employers must seriously consider whether or not they can make such an accommodation without it causing them undue hardship. In this case, facilitating the employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation would not have created undue hardship for the employer.
Disability requests and reasonable accommodations
According to the EEOC, the employer’s conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act which protects employees who have medical disabilities from being terminated or demoted for requesting reasonable accommodations from their employers. The EEOC was successfully able to argue that the employer did not properly consider the employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation. Further, she was demoted and then fired for requesting an accommodation.
The company will now pay the former employee $80,000 in back wages and compensatory damages and furnish other relief. In addition to paying the former employee, the company will be required to revise its practices to ensure it provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. It will also be required to provide annual training on the ADA to employees and post a notice to employees regarding the lawsuit.
Undue hardship and disability accommodations
Under federal law, an accommodation would create an undue hardship if it would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer. The EEOC considers several factors when determining if an accommodation represents undue hardship. These include:
- Costs related to the accommodation
- The size of the employer
- The employer’s financial resources
- The nature and structure of the employer’s operation
- The impact the accommodation would have on the business
- Whether the accommodation compromises workplace safety
- Whether the accommodation decreases workplace efficiency
- Whether the accommodation requires other employees to do more than their fair share of work
Talk to an Employment Discrimination Civil Defense Lawyer Today
Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employers who are facing suits by employees or the EEOC related to employment discrimination. Call our Columbus employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your defense right away.
Source:
eeoc.gov/newsroom/vibralife-katy-pay-80000-eeoc-disability-discrimination-lawsuit
