California health care company will pay $325,000 to settle disability discrimination case
Posted March 20, 2017
A California-based company that operates health care and assisted living facilities throughout the state’s Central Valley, will pay $325,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
EEOC filed suit against the company in September 2015, charging that since 2012, it had discriminated against a class of applicants and employees based on their disability, having a record of a disability, or being perceived as having one. EEOC said that the company denied employees accommodations for their disabilities, and refused to hire, or fired, applicants and employees who had disabilities or were regarded as such. EEOC also said that the company rescinded employment offers when applicants' post-offer medical examinations indicated that they had a record of a disability or had current medical restrictions. EEOC further charged that the company required employees be completely free of medical restrictions to work. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In addition to the monetary relief, the company agreed to retain an ADA and equal employment opportunity consultant to revise the company's policies and procedures with respect to disability discrimination, provide discrimination training to the company's workforce with a focus on disability discrimination, and maintain a centralized system to track all accommodation requests and complaints. EEOC will monitor compliance with a two-year consent decree.
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