A federal judge entered a consent decree requiring a nationwide staffing company to pay $100,000 to a blind woman against whom the company discriminated because of her blindness according to a suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged the owner of Balance Staffing hired the woman, a recruiter, to help him launch a Balance Staffing center in Illinois, named Balance Financial Inc. The EEOC said the business owner did not realize his new hire was blind when he hired her. But, when he learned she was, he immediately revoked the job offer, even though she had started recruiting for him.
Discrimination in employment on account of disability violates Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit EEOC v. Balance Staffing and Balance Staffing d/b/a Balance Financial, Inc., No. 09 CV-06004) on September 25, 2009 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court through its conciliation process.
The three-year consent decree resolving the suit, approved by U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo, with the consent of the parties, requires Balance Staffing and Balance Professional Inc. to report any further complaints of disability discrimination or retaliation to the EEOC.
The owner and manager of the company will also undergo annually training on disability discrimination. The decree contains an injunction prohibiting the companies from engaging in further discrimination on the basis of disability and from retaliating against anyone who opposes disability discrimination, files a discrimination charge, or participates in a government investigation, proceeding, or hearing. (workersxzcompxzkit)
Regional Attorney John Hendrickson noted, “The result of this case demonstrates how seriously we at EEOC take disability discrimination. Anyone who is a victim of discriminatory actions, such as those actions allegedly taken by Balance Staffing’s management, should not hesitate to bring the issue to light by notifying the EEOC. We stand ready to act in cases like this.”
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
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