Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Employers on the hook for $393K for disability and pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, (Apr 23, 2025)

By Jonathan Anderson

One employer agreed to pay $250,000 for failing to take reasonable steps to facilitate a blind employee’s use of screen reader software and firing her for needing the reasonable accommodation.

Three employers entered into settlements totaling $393,000 to resolve allegations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that the employers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition to providing monetary relief to affected employees, the employers agreed to make changes to their policies, procedures, and training to avoid future discrimination.

Disability discrimination. Alliance Ground International, Inc. (AGI) agreed to pay $70,000 to a job applicant and provide other relief to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging disability discrimination in violation of the ADA. The suit alleged that the employer, an air cargo and logistics company, refused to hire a qualified deaf applicant because of his disability and failed to consider any reasonable workplace accommodations. The applicant, who sought a mail agent position at AGI’s warehouse near Chicago O’Hare International Airport, had extensive relevant work experience and an excellent work safety record, the EEOC said.

In addition to the monetary compensation, the consent decree requires AGI to take corrective action to ensure future compliance with the ADA. The Miami-based company must provide training on the ADA to employees involved in the hiring process and ensure it has a procedure for addressing disability accommodation requests in a timely and effective manner going forward. AGI must also report any future complaints of disability discrimination to the EEOC occurring during the decree’s two-year duration.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois; the case is No. 1:23-cv-14302.

Disability discrimination. The Results Companies, LLC agreed to pay $250,000 and provide other relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the complaint, the company hired an employee who is blind as a telephonic customer service representative to work from its call center in Wichita Falls, Texas. After accepting the position, the employee requested to use screen reader software as a reasonable accommodation so that she could review written material on her computer screen. Screen readers convert text and other information on computers into synthesized speech. The lawsuit charged that the company did not take reasonable steps to facilitate the employee’s use of screen reader software, refused the employee’s suggestion that the company contact her vocational counselor and the publisher of her screen reader software to request technical assistance, and then fired her because she required the reasonable accommodation in violation of the ADA.

In addition to the monetary compensation, the two-year consent decree requires the employer to provide internal training about rights and responsibilities under the ADA and implement a plan for handling requests for accommodation from future employees who require access to screen reader technology.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls Division; the case is No. 7:24-cv-00128.

Pregnancy discrimination, retaliation. White Pine Senior Living agreed to pay $73,000 to a former employee and provide other equitable relief to settle an EEOC Title VII lawsuit alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. The suit alleged that after a manager learned of the employee’s pregnancy, the manager threatened to demote the employee and launched a campaign of excessive and heightened scrutiny of her work. The lawsuit further alleged that the employee opposed the discrimination and filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC, which caused the manager to retaliate through negative performance reviews that threatened employment-related harm. White Pine Senior Living forced the employee to quit by insisting that it must hire a replacement for her because it assumed the pregnant employee would not be reliable, according to the agency. The employer had awarded a promotion to the female employee prior to the manager learning that she was pregnant.

In addition to the monetary relief, the consent decree requires White Pine Senior Living to revise its anti-discrimination policies, allow the EEOC to monitor complaints of pregnancy discrimination, and conduct training designed to prevent future Title VII violations based on pregnancy discrimination and retaliation.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Minnesota; the case is No. 1:25-cv-59.

Companies: Alliance Ground International, Inc.; The Results Companies, LLC; White Pine Senior Living

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