The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Killeen, Texas branch of the fast food franchise Wendy’s for turning down a job applicant because he is hearing-impaired.
The EEOC charges in its suit that the restaurant’s general manager refused to hire Michael Harrison, Jr. for a cooker position, despite his qualifications and experience, upon learning that Harrison is hearing-impaired.
Harrison said that after successfully interviewing with the Wendy’s shift manager, he attempted to complete the interview process by interviewing with Wendy’s general manager via Texas Relay, a telephonic system utilized by people with hearing impairments. Harrison’s told the EEOC that during the call he was told by the general manager that “there is really no place for someone we cannot communicate with.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits disability discrimination and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees’ and applicants’ disabilities as long as this does not pose an undue hardship.
“In these tough economic times, opportunities for employment are at a premium,” said Robert A. Canino, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Dallas District Office. “Here, Mr. Harrison had the work experience necessary to do the job and was prepared to contribute his solid work ethic and skills again to the food retail business, but was denied the chance to do so on irrelevant and unlawful grounds.”
The EEOC seeks injunctive relief, including the formulation of policies to prevent and correct disability discrimination. The suit also seeks lost wages and compensatory damages for Harrison and punitive damages against CTW L.L.C, the franchise owner. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
“The ADA requires companies to treat disabled persons the same as all other applicants for a job,” said Joel Clark, trial attorney for the EEOC. “This company automatically refused to consider Mr. Harrison for employment solely because of his hearing impairment. Wendy’s should not have relied on its own negative, generalized assumptions about his ability to communicate.”