Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—EEOC nets $250K for workers aggrieved by 100 percent healed policy; OSHA imposes $196K fine after worker’s fingers amputated, (Jun 10, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“The ADA requires employers to individually assess reasonable accommodations and grant those which do not pose an undue hardship for the employer. Uniform policies eliminating such individual considerations are red flags for ADA violations.”

In separate developments, the EEOC recovered $250,000 for workers aggrieved by their employer’s refusal to reasonably accommodate actual or perceived medical restrictions, and OSHA imposed a proposed $196,251 penalty against an employer for machine guard and other safety violations after a worker’s four fingers were amputated.

100 percent healed policy unlawful. The Daly/Kenney Group, LLC, and 15 related companies, dba Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in New Bedford and Fairhaven, Massachusetts, will pay $250,000 and provide other relief to settle allegations that they violated the ADA with their “100 percent healed” policy. Since around March 2013, the Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees had a policy that refused to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who had actual or perceived medical restrictions. Instead, the franchisees placed such employees on unpaid, indefinite leave, even if the restrictions did not prevent them from performing the essential functions of their jobs, according to the EEOC. Known as a “100 percent healed” policy, this practice often resulted in forced resignation or discharge of employees who could not provide a doctor’s note stating they had no restrictions. Two of the franchisees also reportedly unlawfully commingled employees’ medical records with their personnel files.

In addition, the four-year consent decree settling the suit requires the Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees to eliminate the requirement for employees to have no medical restrictions, individually assess and provide reasonable accommodations to qualified, disabled employees, and annually train all employees on the ADA.

“The ADA requires employers to individually assess reasonable accommodations and grant those which do not pose an undue hardship for the employer,” noted Acting EEOC District Director Arlean Nieto. “Uniform policies eliminating such individual considerations are red flags for ADA violations.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Massachusetts; the case is No. 1:26-cv-11526-AK.

Machine safety guards bypassed; four fingers amputated. OSHA cited RBG Foods Inc., dba Piggly Wiggly in Bowdon, Georgia, with $196,251 in proposed penalties for machine guarding and other safety infractions after a worker at the supermarket suffered an amputation. Investigators found that on January 29, 2026, RBG Foods tasked the worker with cleaning a commercial grinder. A coworker stepped on the machine’s foot-control pedal, which started the grinder, pulling in the employee’s hand and causing four of the worker’s fingers to be amputated. OSHA cited the employer with a willful violation for bypassing the machine’s safety guards and exposing workers to hazards like moving parts and flying debris, a serious violation for failing to establish a program for the control of hazardous energy, and an other-than-serious violation for failing to report the amputation to OSHA within 24 hours of the incident.

RBG Foods has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Companies: The Daly/Kenney Group, LLC; RBG Foods Inc.; Piggly Wiggly

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