A coal mine in Birmingham, Ala. will pay $40,000 to settle allegations it failed to reassign a worker with a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Rocky Davis had hearing loss and was regularly assigned to an area of the mine that adversely affected his hearing aids, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He asked his employer, Jim Walter Resources, to assign him to other locations, but JWR denied his request. Instead, it removed him from work completely and would not allow him to return until he provided a full medical release.
When Davis returned to work, JWR again assigned him to an area where he couldn’t hear properly. EEOC sued, alleging that JWR denied Davis a reasonable accommodation. (EEOC v. Jim Walters Resources, Inc., No. 7:09-cv-1895 (D.C.N.D. Alabama).
The employer settled with the commission, agreeing to pay Davis $40,000 and train all managers on their ADA responsibilities.
“People with hearing loss cannot be excluded from jobs because of unfounded myths and assumptions,” Marsha Rucker, senior trial attorney of EEOC’s Birmingham District Office, explained in a press release. “Under the ADA, employers are expected to remove barriers that prevent otherwise qualified individuals with hearing loss from working.”
For additional information about workplace accommodations, see Thompson’s employment law library, including the ADA Compliance Guide.