Library Hotel, a boutique hotel in NYC, will pay $42,000 to a former employee to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit with the EEOC. According to the lawsuit, Library Hotel refused to allow the employee to use a chair to sit down while working at the front desk. The employee requested accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Library Hotel used company policy to deny the request, as its policy is for guest agents to stand at all times. The hotel did offer insufficient and undesirable accommodation. The employee attempted to tough it out without accommodations, but after a decline in health, due to the difficulty in standing for long periods of time, the employee resigned.
Company policies do not supersede the ADA
The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with qualifying disabilities. The employee provided medical support for the condition, but the hotel would not allow sitting as a reasonable accommodation. Although the hotel did attempt to find another solution, they refused the most obvious because of company policy. An EEOC Regional Attorney stated:
“This case should serve as a stern warning to employers. A company’s internal policy does not trump a company’s obligations under the ADA.”
Library Hotel will pay monetary relief to the employee, and significantly revise its ADA accommodations policy, as well as provide additional training to employees and management concerning the ADA. They will also be under scrutiny to the EEOC as the hotel will be required to report to the organization periodically.
Should employees sit down?
For many retail and customer service jobs, employees are required to stand while working. There is no federal mandate for the right to sit, but some states do have laws pertaining to sitting down. It’s important to check your jurisdiction for related information. Oklahoma, for example, has a suitable seating law that pertains to minors only. Many states grant sitting accommodations for disabled employees.
If your policies are inflexible to the ADA or other federal laws, it’s time to revamp them.
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.
