REFUSED TO GIVE DISABLED EMPLOYEE TIME OFF FROM WORK
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that KEYSTONE RV, a recreational vehicle manufacturer, based out of Goshen, Indian, has agreed to resolve a disability discrimination claim filed by the agency for $94,460.
The company allegedly failed to accommodate a former employee who needed time off to address a “hereditary condition.”
Believing that such conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Keystone RV Company, Case No. 3:22-cv-00831-DRL) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division), seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
Together with the monetary payment to the impacted individual, the company has agreed to modify its employment and training related policies and practices and will report to the agency over the course of a two-year period.
In a written statement, Kenneth L. Bird, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Indianapolis, “If an employer can accommodate an employee’s need for leave without undue hardship, it cannot refuse that accommodation just because it has a strict attendance policy …. Providing a reasonable amount of leave for medical treatment allows individuals with disabilities to stay in the workforce.”
Bet Keystone didn't find that recreational ….