VISION IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL FIRED BEFORE HE EVEN BEGAN WORK
A Papa John’s Pizza, in Athen’s Georgia, hired M.B., who was legally blind and relied on a service dog to commute to work. Inexplicably, the company denied M.B.’s request to be accompanied by his service animal and was fired before he could begin work.
Believing that such conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), filed suit (Civil Action No. Civil Action No. 3:23-CV-00030-TES) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In addition to announcing a $175,000 settlement payment to M.B., the EEOC noted that the company has agreed to modify its employment-related policies and practices.
In a written statement, Karla Gilbride, the EEOC’s general counsel, noted that “Not allowing blind and visually impaired people to travel to and from work in the way that affords them confidence and independence is akin to telling sighted workers who rely on the flexibility and independence of driving that they may not travel to work by car …. We are glad that Papa John’s has agreed to provide training to its employees and hope that in the future, no other job applicant who uses a service dog will experience the discrimination that [M.B.] faced.”
How blind were they at Papa John’s?
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