A national retail chain will pay $2 million to settle claims it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requesting too much medical information from employees and automatically firing employees who had exhausted their sick leave.
The agreement settles a 2008 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (EEOC v. Dillard’s, Inc., et al, No. 08-CV-1780 (S.D. Calif. Feb. 9, 2012)).
EEOC alleged that Dillard’s required employees to disclose the exact nature of their medical conditions to be approved for sick leave. The employees in question had doctors’ notes stating that their absences were due to medical conditions but “many did not feel comfortable disclosing the specifics of their conditions to the company,” the commission said in a press release. The employees were then fired in retaliation for their refusal to provide details of their medical conditions. According to EEOC, ADA prohibits employers from making inquiries into the disabilities of their employees unless it is job-related and consistent with business necessity.
The suit also alleged that Dillard’s automatically terminated employees who exceeded the company’s sick leave allotment, without determining whether they were entitled to more as a disability accommodation.
In addition to providing monetary relief, Dillard’s also must hire a consultant to revise company policies, train supervisors and develop a tracking system for employee complaints involving disability discrimination.
“Policies and practices that permit medical inquiries without proof of a valid business necessity run afoul of the law, often having large-scale consequences,” said Anna Park, a regional EEOC attorney. “All employers should carefully examine their own policies and practices to ensure compliance with federal law.”
For additional information about disability accommodations, see Thompson’s employment law library, including the ADA Compliance Guide.