Voyant Beauty, a company with 12 manufacturing centers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, settled an EEOC disability lawsuit with the EEOC for $75,000 and other relief. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Voyant fired a newly-hired employee after learning she was deaf. Voyant terminated the employee citing safety concerns, as she would be working on a production line. The EEOC contends that Voyant relied on “unfounded stereotypes” in making the decision to fire the employee.
Deafness is not an automatic job disqualification
The EEOC charges Voyant for firing the employee on her first day because she was deaf. Voyant made the assumption that the employee could not safely work on the production line, even though the employee was qualified for the job and could work with or without accommodations.
Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office said, “Relying on unfounded stereotypes about an individual’s disability in making employment decisions is illegal.” Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the employer should have made an individualized assessment of the employee’s ability to do the job. The ADA requires objective evidence that a person cannot do a job before termination.
Lawsuit settled
The employee in question will receive $75,000 in compensation from Voyant. More importantly, Voyant is subject to a consent decree that requires the company to provide training to management about federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on a disability. In addition, the company will report to the EEOC for the term of the decree about hiring disabled applicants.
Reminder for employers
Employers should take notice that the EEOC enforces federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace against workers with disabilities. Communicate, and use the resources on the EEOC’s website to get more information about complying with disability laws before your business comes under fire from the EEOC.
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
