REFUSED TO REASSIGN CALL-CENTER EMPLOYEE WHO SUFFERED FROM ANXIETY DISORDER
Citizens Bank allegedly failed to accommodate a disabled employee at its Cranston, Rhode Island call center when it refused to reassign the individual -- who reportedly suffered from an anxiety disorder -- to a position that didn’t require him to interact with “aggravated customers.”
Despite having “hundreds” of other job openings, the Bank refused to consider that request, and the employee was eventually forced to resign.
Since such conduct was believed to be violative of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the EEOC filed litigation (EEOC v. Citizens Bank, N.A., Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-00362) in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and a settlement of that dispute was recently announced.
In addition to a monetary payment of $100,000 to the impacted individual, the company has agreed to modify its employment and training related practices.
In a written statement, EEOC New York District Office Regional Attorney Jeffrey Burstein noted, “An employer cannot refuse to engage in the interactive process until an employee returns to the same job that the employee’s disability precludes him or her from performing …. Transferring a qualified employee to a vacant position is a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.”
That had to be particularly aggravating to Citizens Bank.
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