A Florida-based outsourcing company has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a federal lawsuit after allegedly firing a blind employee when she requested accommodation software.
The Results Companies, LLC will pay the settlement to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), according to court documents filed in the Northern District of Texas.
The lawsuit stems from the company’s hiring of a blind employee as a telephonic customer service representative at its Wichita Falls, Texas call center. After accepting the position, the employee requested screen reader software that would convert on-screen text into synthesized speech as a reasonable accommodation.
According to the EEOC, the company failed to facilitate the use of screen reader software, rejected the employee’s suggestion to contact her vocational counselor for technical assistance, and ultimately terminated her employment because she required the accommodation.
Settlement includes training requirements
The two-year consent decree approved by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor requires The Results Companies to implement internal training on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and develop a plan for handling future accommodation requests from employees needing screen reader technology.
“Generalized conclusions will not support a claim of undue hardship,” said Travis Nicholson, director of the EEOC’s Dallas District Office. “It is important for employers to meaningfully participate in the interactive process once an employee requests a reasonable accommodation and gather information specific to the situation at hand, even if they may not be familiar with the requested accommodation.”
Legal obligations under ADA
The case highlights employers’ legal obligations under the ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires reasonable accommodations unless they cause undue hardship.
“Accommodating employees who are blind with screen reader software such as JAWS is not automatically an undue hardship. Employers must meaningfully assess their technical capabilities and available resources,” said Alexa Lang, a trial attorney with the EEOC’s Dallas office.
The lawsuit was filed after the EEOC’s conciliation process failed to reach a pre-litigation settlement.
