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The Great EEOC Roundup: October Edition


Happy Halloween to readers.  In between waiting for trick or treaters this evening, feel free to peruse the below EEOC developments to pass the time.

As always, there are some recent EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that stand out.



At the start of the month, the EEOC filed a disability discrimination suit against Home Depot after it allegedly failed to accommodate and then fired an employee who had a disability related emergency at work.   The lawsuit claimed that the employee held a position at a Home Depot store in Peru, Illinois.  After the employee had a medical related emergency related to her disability that required prompt attention, Home Depot is alleged to have failed to provide her adequate means to attend to the disability and then fired her for minor infractions (caused by Home Depot's alleged failure to accommodate her.)  This alleged conduct would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") if proven to be true.  It will be interesting to see what additional facts come out as litigation progresses (and what response Home Depot files.)



Last Thursday, it was announced that Ruby Tuesday would pay $45,000.00 to settle an age discrimination claim brought by the EEOC.  The suit came about after Floyd Cardwell (a "qualified" applicant with over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry) applied for a general manager position at a Ruby Tuesday location and after he inquired as to why he was not hired, he was informed it was because they were seeking a candidate who could "maximize longevity."  This conduct is in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") which prohibits discrimination against an employee (or applicant) on the basis of age.

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