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The Great EEOC Roundup: March Edition


As always, there are some EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that caught my eye this week.


Party City Hit With Sex & Disability Discrimination Suit

Earlier this month, the EEOC announced it had filed suit against Party City Corporation on the grounds that one of its Texas stores terminated a pregnant employee after she presented the company with physical job restrictions from her doctor.  The suit claims that the employee experienced complications in her pregnancy which resulted in some medical restrictions being put in place for her work.  After these restrictions became known, she was fired because of her pregnancy and medical condition.  This alleged conduct is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits sex discrimination (including pregnancy) as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act which requires employers to try and make reasonable accommodations for medical and physical conditions.



The EEOC filed suit against Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas based upon a charge of disability discrimination by the company.  According to the suit, an applicant applied for an open claims examiner position with the company.  The applicant was required to complete a 35 minute assessment exam which included an audio portion.  Although the applicant was deaf, the audio portion did not contain captions or other visible accommodations for applicants with hearing impairments.  As a result, the applicant could not complete the application process.  The suit claimed that the company was notified of the applicant's disability and requested a reasonable accommodation for the audio portion of the exam.  However, before a reasonable accommodation could be obtained, the company apparently stopped communicating with her.  The suit alleged that this conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is intended to protect employees and applicants from discrimination based on their disabilities and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations.  This $75,000.00 settlement will resolve the claim made against the company.

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