Houcorp, Inc., a fast-food restaurant franchise operating seven restaurants in Indian River and Brevard Counties in Florida has recently settled an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an applicant informed Houcorp’s recruiting and training manager that she was hard of hearing and requested an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter for her orientation with the company. The manager responded that Houcorp does not provide ASL interpreters, which prevented the applicant from attending orientation and beginning her job.
According to the EEOC, such conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination based on disability. After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach Division (EEOC v. Houcorp, Inc., Case No. 2:23-cv-14191-AMC).
The parties later agreed to settle. Houcorp agreed to pay $50,000 and provide ASL interpreters to applicants and employees, upon request, for interviews, orientations, trainings and performance reviews. In addition, the three-year consent decree requires Houcorp to update its job postings and hiring advertisements, revise its anti-discrimination policies, post a notice regarding this lawsuit, and report on the handling of requests for reasonable accommodations. Houcorp will also provide live trainings to owners, managers, and human resources personnel on ADA compliance, as well as training designed specifically to raise awareness about issues affecting the deaf community and dispel stereotypes associated with hiring deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals. Houcorp will conduct an internal audit to identify potential barriers and improve workplace accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants and employees.
The result is not surprising. In May, a similar lawsuit was filed (EEOC v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., Civil Action No. 22-cv-02258) involving a disability discrimination dispute between the EEOC and Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (Hobby Lobby), an arts and crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City.
According to the lawsuit, Hobby Lobby violated the ADA when it failed to allow a part-time clerk to use her service dog on the job as a reasonable accommodation for her disabilities, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. When the clerk requested permission to bring her service dog to the store, the manager asked her to provide medical documentation to support her request. The clerk did so and also provided the documentation in response to a request from human resources. However, the district manager and human resources decided the dog would present a safety issue, even though customers are allowed to bring service and pet dogs to the store. Hobby Lobby ultimately terminated the clerk when she said she could not work without her service dog.
The parties agreed to a settlement in which Hobby Lobby would pay $50,000 in monetary damages to the former clerk and to implement policies, procedures, and employee training to ensure future compliance with the ADA.
StraightforWARD Legal Advice:
Under the ADA, employers are required to provide a reasonable accommodation, upon request, to aid with the job application process, interview, or day-to-day work, as long as the accommodation would not place undue hardship on the employer. For example, prior to a job offer being made, an employer cannot ask if the applicant uses a hearing aid but can ask about the applicant’s ability to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, such as whether or not the applicant can respond quickly to instructions in a noisy, fast-paced working environment. If the disability is not obvious, and a job applicant or employee has asked for a reasonable accommodation, the employer can ask for additional information about the individual’s disability. Failure to comply with the reasonable accommodation requirements may result in significant penalties for employers.
Employers with questions about corporate compliance and employment litigation should contact Jeremy Rogers at (813) 558-3387 or jrogers@thewardlaw.com.