According to the lawsuit filed by the agency before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, Michael Harrison, a hearing impaired applicant, was denied employment after the restaurant’s general manager discovered that he has a disability.
Moreover, the lawsuit stated that Harrison was previously employed at a fast food hamburger franchisee for more than a couple of years before deciding to apply at Wendy’s as cook. Unfortunately, after a series of successful interviews with the restaurant’s shift manager, Harrison was told by a general manager during his final interview that the restaurant has no place for someone like him who has problem communicating.
Under the Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discriminating qualified applicants and employees based on disability is prohibited. Furthermore, the ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to employees and applicants with disabilities, just like Harrison.
Consequently, aside from the monetary relief amounting to $41,000.00 that the restaurant has agreed to pay, the latter is also required to provide other significant relief to settle the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the EEOC is encouraging all other employees who suffered from any form of employment discrimination to come forward and not hesitate to report their employers’ misconduct—like what Harrison did.
On the other hand, a Los Angeles labor lawyer salutes the EEOC’s willingness in taking smart actions not just to compensate harassed applicants alone, but also to teach other employees from the hiring department as well as their employers about how to respond to applicants with impairments through trainings.
0 comments:
Post a Comment