If an employer grants severance pay to laid-off employees, it must also pay those who were on leave for disabilities at the time of the layoff.
A California auto plant failed to do so and has now agreed to pay into a $6 million settlement fund (along with Toyota) to settle an Americans With Disabilities Act lawsuit filed by the workers.
When New United Motors & Manufacturing, Inc. closed, employees received severance packages based on whether they worked during the last six months. Many employees who were on medical leave at the time were denied severance pay. According to the commission, several would have otherwise received up to $38,000.
Pending a judge’s approval, employees with disabilities who were denied severance packages will each be eligible to receive a portion of the $6 million.
The plant closure “had an enormous impact regionally,” EEOC Oakland Local Director Kristine Jensen said in an EEOC press release. “The workers who came in to our office were devastated by the loss of severance benefits despite decades of loyal service. It was an extra blow on top of being forced back into a tough job market with their specialized skills as autoworkers and their disabilities.”