Airlines to Pay $9.8 Million to Settle Disabilities Act Suit; Training Required
|
|
Friday, December 1, 2017 |
|
American Airlines and Envoy Air will pay $9.8 million in stock, which is worth over $14 million if cashed in today, and provide other significant relief to settle a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. The EEOC's suit said the airlines unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of employees.
"This matter highlights the critical role of the Americans with Disabilities Act in getting people back to work as quickly as possible," said EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic. "The parties deserve credit for working diligently to bring this matter to resolution."
According to the EEOC's suit, American and Envoy violated federal law by requiring their employees to have no restrictions before they could return to work following a medical leave. Under this policy, if an employee had restrictions, American and Envoy refused to allow them to return to work and failed to determine if there were reasonable accommodations that would allow the employee to return to work with restrictions.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability and also requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer. If employees with disabilities are not able to do their current job, even with a reasonable accommodation, employers are obligated to look for a reassignment to another position for those employees.
The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Civil Action No. 17-cv-04059-SPL, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process and continued negotiations prior to filing suit. The consent decree resolves the EEOC's lawsuit and several charges of discrimination filed by individuals with the EEOC. The systemic investigation was conducted by the EEOC's Phoenix District Office.
In addition to the $9.8 million in stock, the two-year decree includes injunctions against engaging in any future discrimination or retaliation based on disability, and requires the companies to adopt policies that ensure reasonable accommodations are provided to persons with disabilities. American and Envoy will provide mandatory periodic training on the ADA to employees. The settlement applies to all American and Envoy employees throughout the country.
Login to read more.
|
|
|
|