Recruitment of dismissed employees with disabilities, instead of providing reasonable accommodation, federal agency fees
WASHINGTON-TrueBlue, Inc., a Tacoma, Washington-based human resources company with offices nationwide, has broken federal law by discriminating against an employee because of her disability in the office of its subsidiary PeopleReady, US Equal Employment, in Manassas, Virginia has indicted the Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee was working as a marketing coordinator and had to take leave due to a psychiatric disability. TrueBlue denied the employee’s request and fired her when she was medically cleared to go back to work after a hospital stay. The lawsuit further alleges that workplace comments were made in which the employee was described as a “problem child” and thrown into the “cloister bin” in relation to her need for inpatient care.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for workers with disabilities and prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on an individual’s disability. The EEOC filed its lawsuit (Civil Claim No. 21-cv-01098) in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after initially attempting to reach a pre-trial settlement through its voluntary arbitration process. The EEOC calls for financial relief, including back payment and compensation and punitive damages for the employee, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination on the basis of a disability.
“It is the employer’s responsibility to know its obligations under the ADA,” said Debra M. Lawrence, EEOC Philadelphia regional attorney. “The EEOC will stand up for victims of discrimination in the workplace.”
Mindy E. Weinstein, director of the EEOC’s Washington Field Office, said, “Regardless of a worker’s disability, visible or invisible, employers must comply with federal protections for people with disabilities.”
The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office is investigating allegations of discrimination and pursuing cases in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, parts of New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The EEOC promotes job opportunities by enforcing federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.