Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—$1M recovered for alleged victims of disability and race discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, (Jul 18, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“Companies should focus on supporting and retaining employees with disabilities, not finding ways to push them out.”

The EEOC separately announced its recovery of a combined $1,079,000 in monetary relief from employers in Colorado, the District of Columbia, and New Mexico to resolve allegations of disability and race discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. The greatest portion of relief went to workers aggrieved by an employer’s full-duty, testing, and physical requirements policies.

Unlawful work policies. Pursuant to a four-year consent decree, Western Distributing Co. will pay $919,000 to 60 former employees and furnish other relief to settle disability discrimination allegations. The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that the corporate conglomerate, consisting of at least 15 companies—including Western Distributing Transportation Company, United States Armored Co. (USAC) and Western Towing and Recovery—violated the ADA when it discriminated against individuals with disabilities, mostly over-the-road truck drivers, through multiple corporate policies.

Full-duty policy. Western’s full-duty policy required individuals to be released from any and all medical restrictions in order to work, regardless of whether the individual could work with or without a reasonable accommodation. Western also maintained a policy of firing employees if they could not return from FMLA leave within 12 weeks, even if they could have returned with a short extension or other accommodation. Western’s decision to fire employees often came with little to no warning, as employees received notice about their termination through a letter in the mail, according to the EEOC.

The case began in 2009, when a former Western local truck driver took FMLA leave after needing open heart surgery. Per Department of Transportation guidance, the driver needed to refrain from driving for at least three months before returning to commercial driving. Although his own cardiologist cleared him to work, Western required the driver to receive clearance from its medical examiner before returning to work. Western’s examiner could not see the driver within the 12 weeks of permitted FMLA leave, so the driver needed a nine-day extension of medical leave as a reasonable accommodation to allow him to be cleared to work. Western denied the accommodation and instead fired him pursuant to its corporate policies.

Testing and physical requirements. Western also instituted a number of testing and physical requirements, including requiring its drivers to be able to lift 50 pounds to shoulder height, which was intended to replicate a driver putting on tire chains during snowstorms. Tire chains, however, typically only weigh 25 pounds, and Colorado law permits use of alternate traction devices in addition to tire chains. The EEOC alleged that Western violated the ADA by requiring drivers to lift 50 pounds.

Litigation. In January 2023, after a three-week jury trial in Denver, the verdict was split. The jury found that Western’s full-duty policy violated the ADA, and that the EEOC did not establish a pattern or practice of discrimination. The EEOC had presented testimony from Western’s former safety director, who acknowledged Western implemented the testing requirements to screen out individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. The EEOC also presented corporate emails from Western’s CEO, who expressed concerns about rehiring individuals who previously filed workers compensation claims.

More about the consent decree. The parties were scheduled to resume a second phase of litigation when they reached a settlement. The consent decree resolving the suit also requires Western to undergo mandatory ADA training; hire a monitor to oversee and report further acts of discrimination to the EEOC; ensure its corporate policies are compliant with the ADA; and conduct annual validation of its physical requirements for its drivers.

“Full-duty and inflexible leave policies unlawfully seek to prevent workers from returning to work,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill. “Companies should focus on supporting and retaining employees with disabilities, not finding ways to push them out.”

Supervisor sexually harassed female workers. Pursuant to a year-long conciliation agreement, in order to resolve a sex discrimination and retaliation charge Academy Mortgage Corporation will provide monetary relief totaling $75,000 to two women and conduct sexual harassment and discrimination training. The EEOC’s investigation determined there was reasonable cause to believe the Albuquerque, New Mexico, mortgage lending company violated Title VII. A former supervisor at the company allegedly sexually harassed female workers, and retaliated against them when they complained or rejected his advances. Purportedly, he also repeatedly texted inappropriate requests for dates and romantic overtures to a female worker, as well as engaged in unwelcome physical touching of female workers.

Retaliation instead of remediation. The charge also alleged that when a female worker complained, the company failed to take appropriate action to remedy the supervisor’s behavior. Further, Academy Mortgage retaliated against her by transferring her to another branch and ultimately firing her. The former supervisor then harassed a second worker, the charge alleged.

“We applaud Academy Mortgage for agreeing to an early resolution of this charge,” said April Klug, director of the Albuquerque Area Office. “This resolution helps give the affected workers closure and highlights the importance of sexual harassment training. Managers have an obligation to maintain workplaces free from harassment and to appropriately respond to harassment complaints.”

Failed to promote black manager, fired her when she complained. Westminster Ingleside King Farm Presbyterian Retirement Communities, Inc., a management company operating several retirement and assisted living facilities in the Greater Washington, D.C., area, will pay $85,000 and furnish other relief to settle allegations of race and retaliation discrimination. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Westminster Ingleside violated Title II when it refused to promote a high-performing black manager to an executive-level position based on her race and then fired her when she complained about the discrimination internally and filed a discrimination charge.

The consent decree resolving the litigation also prohibits future race discrimination or retaliation and requires the company to implement enhanced non-discrimination and non-retaliation policies, provide notices to employees about their rights, and give advanced training to HR and management officials on the company’s policies and obligations.

“Internal complaints can be early warning signs for employers,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “They should be treated as an opportunity to proactively correct unlawful conduct or improve workplace policies or practices. What employers should never do is treat complaints as the problem or take adverse action against the complainant.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Maryland; the case is No. 8:24-cv-02811.

Companies: Western Distributing Co.; Western Distributing Transportation Company; United States Armored Co.; Western Towing and Recovery; Academy Mortgage Corporation; Westminster Ingleside King Farm Presbyterian Retirement Communities, Inc.

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