REVEALING DISABILITY TO EMPLOYER LED TO HIS TERMINATION
After disclosing that he suffered from a disability and that he might need an accommodation, his employer, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), fired the impacted individual.
Believing that such conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) undertook an investigation, and the parties were able to reach a pre-litigation resolution of the complaint.
In addition to a $57,577 payment to the former employee, the WSDOT agreed to modify its employment related policies and practices, shall provide mandatory training for its management and human resources staff, and will also inform employees of their rights.
In a written statement, Elizabeth M. Cannon, director of the EEOC’s Seattle Field Office, noted that, “The EEOC will rigorously pursue justice on behalf of individuals with disabilities …. Employers who make employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about disabilities are violating the rights of workers and risk enforcement action and potential litigation.”
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