Save Edge to Pay $30,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

EEOC – INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Save Edge, Inc., a Xenia, Ohio-based industrial file sharpening company, will pay $30,000 to a rejected job applicant and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Save Edge offered applicant Anthony Hoover an operator position but rescinded it once it learned that he took a prescription drug for a seizure disorder. The EEOC said Save Edge withdrew the job offer because it regarded Hoover as a disabled individual incapable of doing the job.

Discrimination against a person because he or she is disabled or regarded as disabled violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (3:14-cv-0211) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Dayton Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to providing monetary relief to Hoover, the consent decree settling the suit prohibits Save Edge from engaging in future discrimination against disabled employees or applicants, and from retaliating against applicants or employees who exercise their rights to complain about discrimination or assist in an investigation or discrimination-related proceeding.

Save Edge must also implement a written disability policy and procedures to ensure equal employment opportunities are afforded to employees and applicants with disabilities. Finally, the company must post a notice of non-discrimination at its facility and train its hiring managers involved in the hiring process.

“Addressing allegations of hiring discrimination is an EEOC priority, and I am delighted that a resolution has been reached,” said EEOC Indianapolis Regional Attorney Laurie A. Young.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Note – Canada has not Federal legislation protecting people living with disabilities and no agency similar to the EEOC to enforce the law. Canadians with disabilities who experience discrimination must hire their own lawyers and prosecute a human rights compliant at provincial or federal  human rights commissions, depending on the jurisdiction.

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network