Dive Brief:
- Tamco Professional Coating Services Inc. has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability lawsuit alleging that it unlawfully fired its foreperson because of his hearing loss.
- The Louisiana-based company fired the worker because it was concerned that the workers' compensation claim he filed over his hearing loss would increase its insurance costs, the EEOC said. In addition, the employer allegedly failed to follow its progressive discipline procedures when the foreperson was let go. Such actions violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC alleged in the complaint.
- Tamco also agreed to conduct training as part of the three-year consent decree settling the case.
Dive Insight:
"It is important for employers to know that they cannot fire an employee in an attempt to avoid increased insurance costs resulting from the employee's physical or mental impairment," Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC's Houston District Office, said in a statement. An employer may not take into account a person's disability when making decisions about discharge, the EEOC has explained.
In documentation on questions regarding deafness and hearing impairments, the EEOC noted that an employer may fire a hearing-impaired worker for safety reasons when the worker poses a significant risk of substantial self-harm or harm to others that cannot be eliminated or reduced through reasonable accommodation. However, the commission has said, this determination must be based on objective, factual evidence, not fears and speculation. The commission also has said that "some employers assume incorrectly that workers with hearing impairments will cause safety hazards, increase employment costs, or have difficulty communicating in fast-paced environments."
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides information about accommodations for employees with hearing disabilities. JAN has conducted an ongoing survey on the benefits and costs of accommodations since 2004, and survey results "consistently have shown the benefits employers receive from making workplace accommodations far outweigh the associated costs," JAN said.
Providing accommodations tended to result in better retention, improved productivity and morale, reduced workers' compensation and training costs and improved company diversity. Thirty-eight percent of survey participants said they saved on workers' compensation or other insurance costs by making accommodations. The employers participating in the survey reported that 59% of accommodations "cost absolutely nothing," while the rest of accommodations had a typical cost of only $500, JAN said.