PACE Southeast Michigan Will Pay $170,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

PACE Southeast Michigan, a company that provides all-inclusive care for the elderly, will pay $170,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, PACE maintained a policy that treated any employee unable to return to work following the expiration of FMLA-allowed (the Family and Medical Leave Act) leave as a voluntary resignation resulting in termination. According to the lawsuit, two employees requested a brief leave extension of three weeks or less to return to work following the expiration of FMLA leave providing supporting medical documentation for the extensions. PACE refused to consider the requests and fired the employees instead. Replacements were not hired until well after the employees would have been able to return to work.

This conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Under the three-year consent decree that resolves the lawsuit, PACE will pay $60,000 in monetary damages to each of the two former employees who were fired by the company. PACE will also be required to train human resources employees on compliance with the ADA, develop a reasonable accommodation policy that includes examples of additional leave as a reasonable accommodation, and submit annual reports regarding any requests for leave extensions. PACE will further provide a list of additional employees who were terminated at the conclusion of their FMLA leave. An additional $50,000 will be distributed among any of the individuals who would have qualified for leave but was terminated instead.

The EEOC contends that a brief, finite, leave extension can qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. When such a request is made, employers are required to engage in an interactive process and carefully evaluate whether such an extension can be granted without undue hardship to the employer.

Understanding disability discrimination lawsuits under the ADA 

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees so that they can accomplish their work. The law holds that an employer must grant this accommodation unless it would create “undue hardship” for the business. Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide. The EEOC will look at factors like the employer’s size, financial resources, and the needs of the business. An employer cannot refuse to provide accommodation just because it involves some cost. However, the accommodation does not necessarily need to be what the employee wants. If multiple accommodations meet the needs of the disabled employee, the employer may choose which accommodation to provide.

Talk to an Atlanta, Georgia Disability Discrimination Lawyer Today 

The Forsythe Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employees in disability discrimination lawsuits. Call our Atlanta employment law attorneys today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/pace-southeast-michigan-pay-170000-eeoc-disability-discrimination-lawsuit