An employer will pay almost $5 million to settle claims it automatically fired employees who used 12 weeks of medical leave and were not ready to return to work, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Nov. 9.
The settlement resolves claims EEOC filed alleging that the automatic termination policy violated the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
ADA requires employers to consider accommodations for employees with disabilities. According to the EEOC’s suit, if an employee needed more than 12 weeks of leave, Interstate Distributor Company automatically terminated them rather than determining whether additional leave would be a reasonable accommodation.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, also alleged that IDC violated ADA by refusing to make exceptions to its “no restrictions” policy. Under this policy, if an employee had medical restrictions, IDC refused to allow them to return to work and did not consider whether there were reasonable accommodations that would allow the employee to return to work, EEOC alleged.
In addition to the $4.85 million payment, IDC must revise its policies and provide periodic ADA training to employees.
“This settlement demonstrates the need for employers to have attendance policies which take into account the need for paid or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities,” Nancy Sienko, field director for EEOC’s Denver office, said in a press release.
For additional information about disability accommodations, see Thompson’s employment law library, including the ADA Compliance Guide.
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