Company Admits It Fired Employee Because of Physical Impairment, Federal Agency Charges

Gregory Packaging, Inc., a nationwide manufacturer and distributor of juice products to school districts and medical institutions, violated federal law by firing an employee because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it recently filed.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the employee worked as a machine operator in the packaging department at the company's Newnan plant. He operated the machine that assembled the boxes used to ship juice products to Gregory Packaging's customers. Despite his good job performance and the ability to perform his job in a safe manner, Gregory Packing fired him after learning of an impairment affecting the employee's immune, hemic and lymphatic systems, the EEOC charged. The EEOC's complaint alleges that Gregory Packaging admitted it terminated the employee because of his impairment.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (3:14-CV-00152) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. As part of the suit, the EEOC is seeking back pay and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting the company from engaging in any future employment practices that discriminate on the basis of disability.

Gregory Packaging, headquartered in Morristown, N.J., also operates plants in New Jersey and Arizona. It distributes juice products under the trade name Suncup.