Reliable Maintenance Solutions, Inc. (RMS) finds itself involved in a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after it refused to hire a well-qualified worker with a right-arm amputation. Reliable provides industrial and quarry services in Georgia. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an applicant applied to work for Reliable as a dump truck operator in March 2021. Although the applicant was told that his status as an amputee would not hinder his hiring, Reliable let him go after he successfully completed safety training. The EEOC contends that this behavior violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Don’t refuse to hire individuals with disabilities
When the applicant applied to Reliable, he was working as a dump truck operator. Reliable interviewed the applicant and found him qualified to do the job. The applicant successfully completed safety training. According to the lawsuit, Reliable claimed that one of their clients was “uncomfortable” because a truck operator was an amputee.
Reliable did not hire the applicant, even though they originally qualified him to perform the job. The EEOC maintains that this behavior discriminated against the applicant due to his disability. If there were safety concerns about his disability, those should have been worked through with the applicant to determine if those concerns were validated or just stereotypes.
The ADA ensures Americans with disabilities have equal access to employment
Darrell Graham, district director of the Atlanta office, said, “The ADA requires employers to remove barriers to employment for qualified individuals with disabilities — not create them.” The EEOC filed a lawsuit after attempting to settle the case through its administrative process.
The court case has not been decided yet, but the EEOC typically seeks monetary damages for employees who are discriminated against. It could be an expensive lesson for Reliable.
Get more information about disability discrimination 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.
