On November 22, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a former owner of a Medical Center in Chicago Illinois will pay $150,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. The EEOC charges that the former owner fired a woman with a disability instead off accommodating her need.
The EEOC lawsuit states the Federal Civil Rights Laws were violated when the Medical Center failed to provide a radiology technician with a reasonable accommodation of a temporary part-time schedule in January 2016, but instead kept the woman on unpaid leave. Additionally, the suit alleges that when the woman no longer required a reasonable accommodation, the medical center did not allow her to return to work, and instead fired her in July 2016.
The alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination based on disability, including the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation.
Under the four-year consent decree settling the suit, the former owner of the Chicago Medical Center will pay $150,000 to the former employee. Additionally the Center will also be required to provide updated policies regarding disability discrimination and reasonable accommodations, will be required to provide annual trainings at any Illinois facilities about the ADA, and will be required to maintain records of requests for reasonable accommodations and report such requests to the EEOC.
The district director of the EEOC’s Chicago office, Julianne Bowman, stated, “The employee in this case was told that she could only return to work once she had no restrictions. Under the law, however, if an employee is able to do the essential functions of her job and accommodating the restrictions would not be an undue hardship, an employer simply cannot insist on ‘no restrictions’ or ‘fully healed’ as conditions for allowing someone to earn a living.”
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information regarding the EEOC can be accessed at: Home | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov).
Issue:
Disability discrimination is prohibited in the workplace. This includes discriminating against qualified applicants who may apply for positions within your facility. When there are concerns if a qualified applicant can safely perform job functions, human resources should be contacted immediately. Every effort should be made to accommodate qualified candidates for employment. While federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, most states have enacted their own additional laws regarding workplace discrimination. It is essential that administration and human resources are aware of their state-specific laws.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policies and procedures for prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Ensure that your state’s laws for nondiscrimination and nonretaliation are included in the facility’s policies and procedures. Update as needed.
- Train staff and managers about employee rights to be free from discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Teach staff to report any concerns of discrimination or retaliation to their immediate supervisor, the administrator, human resources, the compliance and ethics officer, or through the facility’s compliance hotline.
- Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they may be experiencing discrimination or retaliation in the workplace, or if they have observed it happening to others. In addition, ensure that all staff are aware of how to report any concerns of discrimination or retaliation.
