American Airlines sued by EEOC for firing blind employee
American Airlines refused to provide reasonable accommodations to a blind employee and then fired her, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The commission is charged with investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion national origin, disability, age or genetic information, its website says.
American, which operates its central hub at DFW International Airport, failed to provide screen reader software to the reservations representative after she developed cortical blindness, vision impairment brought on by damage to the processing areas of the brain, the commission said in a statement.
The employee requested the software to convert text and other information into synthesized speech, which would have allowed her to use the company’s computer systems to carry out her job duties, EEOC officials said.
The employee also requested to be transferred to a different position, the EEOC said. Instead of allowing the employee to use the screen reader software or accommodating her by finding her a new position, American kept her on unpaid, involuntary leave for nearly four years before firing her after failing to return her to work, officials said.
The allegations, if true, are a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which “requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for the known disabilities of employees absent an undue hardship,” the EEOC said. “The ADA also prohibits employers from terminating employees of the basis of their disabilities, including when their terminations are caused by the employers’ failure to provide reasonable accommodation.”
The commission said the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that employers must act diligently, in cooperative dialogue with disabled workers, to identify and provide reasonable accommodations for those workers’ known disabilities, absent undue hardship,” Ronald L. Phillips, acting EEOC Dallas regional attorney, said in a statement.
“Employers violate their workers’ civil rights when they fail to provide required reasonable accommodations or unreasonably delay providing such accommodations, and the EEOC will hold such employers accountable.”
In response to a Dallas Morning News inquiry regarding the lawsuit, American Airlines said in a statement, “We are aware of the lawsuit filed by the EEOC and are currently reviewing the matter.”