After experiencing disability discrimination, a former Macy’s employee was recently awarded $75,000 to settled the lawsuit they filed against the popular retailer. The lawsuit was originally filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in it the federal agency “charged Macy’s with firing an asthmatic employee, rather than excuse a one-day absence the employee needed to address emergency complications arising from her disability.” As a result of Macy’s misconduct, the EEOC claimed the retailer “violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”
After experiencing disability discrimination, a former Macy’s employee was recently awarded $75,000 to settle a lawsuit they filed against the popular retailer. The lawsuit was originally filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in it the federal agency “charged Macy’s with firing an asthmatic employee, rather than excuse a one-day absence the employee needed to address emergency complications arising from her disability.” As a result of Macy’s misconduct, the EEOC claimed the retailer “violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”
Before filing the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, the EEOC first attempted to settle the matter out of court with a pre-litigation settlement, but those efforts failed. But what happened, exactly? For starters, according to the lawsuit the “asthmatic employee worked for Macy’s for nearly eight years.” One day while working she ended up “needing immediate medical attention for her asthma,” and was allegedly fired three weeks later for her one-day absence. While “Macy’s policy permits absences for disability-related reasons,” the employee’s request for an excused absence was denied “even though she had to be seen in a hospital emergency room.”
When commenting on the matter, Julianne Bowman, the EEOC’s Chicago district director, said:
“The ADA requires employers to reasonably accommodate disability-related absences that enable their employees to perform their job. Here, a one-day absence would have enabled the employee to return to the job she held for almost eight years. We are pleased with today’s settlement which will compensate the victim and monitor Macy’s accommodation practices with respect to the ADA.”
The regional attorney of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, Greg Gochanour, also chimed in, saying:
“Macy’s response to the employee’s absence was not reasonable. The employee found herself in a potentially life-threatening circumstance and phoned Macy’s to explain her absence before going to the hospital. The following day, she provided Macy’s documentation from the hospital showing she was treated for asthma. Rather than accommodate the employee, Macy’s fired her.”
So how has Macy’s responded to the settlement? What will the company be responsible for going forward? In addition to paying the former employee $75,000, Macy’s will also have to “provide additional relief intended to improve Macy’s workplace for employees with disabilities,” and is required under the settlement to “train certain employees on disability law and accommodation requirements under the ADA…and will also monitor requests for accommodation and complaints of disability discrimination at its two Chicago stores and report those to the EEOC,” according to the agreement.
Sources:
Macys To Pay $75,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Macy’s : settles discrimination suit for firing worker after absence for asthma attack
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