COMPANY REFUSED TO REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE DISABLED EMPLOYEE
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that Sanderson Farms, the country’s third largest chicken-products producer, settled a disability discrimination lawsuit that the agency had filed against it for $62,384.
Apparently, the company termination an employee who sought a reasonable accommodation because he suffered from a “severe cluster headache and migraine condition.”
Because such conduct allegedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC file suit (EEOC v. Sanderson Farms, LLC and Sanderson Farms, LLC (Processing Division), Case No. 5:21-cv-00084-KS-BWR) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. In addition to the monetary settlement, the company signed-off on a two-year consent decree which, among other things, prohibits disability discrimination and requires changes in their employment related practices and policies.
In a written statement released by the agency, EEOC Birmingham district director, Bradley Anderson, noted, “The ADA recognizes that individuals with disabilities are able to perform jobs and make important contributions to our society and our economy …. It is unlawful under the ADA for an employer to fire an employee because of his disability or because he seeks a reasonable accommodation. The EEOC is committed to ensuring that employers don’t deprive people with disabilities the ability to earn a living.”
Was that chicken feed?
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