AGREED TO SETTLE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CLAIM FOR $75,000
After learning that its employee was deaf, Voyant Beauty -- a beauty supply company -- terminated that individual, even though it knew she was qualified for the position and was able to perform its “essential functions."
Since such conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Civil Action No.1:23-cv-014023), seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
On February 27, 2024, the EEOC announced a settlement where in addition to $75,000 going to the impacted individual, the company agreed to modify its training and employment practices.
In a written statement, Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office noted that, “Relying on unfounded stereotypes about an individual’s disability in making employment decisions is illegal …. A decision not to hire someone with a disability based on a safety concern must be based on an individualized assessment of the person’s actual ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job, potentially with accommodations. The ADA requires this to be determined based on objective evidence, not assumptions or guesswork.”
We guess that ends that.
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