The EEOC has announced that Georgia Power Company will settle a class disability discrimination lawsuit for $1,586,500. In the lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that the company automatically disqualified 24 applicants or employees with disabilities without conducting an assessment into whether the employees could do the work. The company refused to hire disabled applicants and refused to return disabled employees to work after they had taken medical leave. In some cases, the company disregarded the opinion of a treating physician who found that the employee could return to work. This settlement demonstrates the need to conduct individual assessments of applicants or employees with disabilities.
For additional information, see the EEOC press release.
