Did This TX Concrete Company Commit Disability Discrimination?
OK Concrete, a company located in Wichita Falls, TX, is being accused of disability discrimination by a former employee and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC filed the lawsuit last month after pre-trial settlement negotiations stalled.
Why Is the Company Being Sued for Disability Discrimination?
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2012. A few months later, he was hired on at OK Concrete as a mixer truck driver. He completed all the requisite training and was receiving high marks. As a courtesy, he informed management about his illness, and let his supervisors know that he would likely need to take a few days off after his health benefits started to seek treatment for the cancer. He was fired within hours.This appears to be a blatant act of workplace discrimination. As per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, employers are prohibited from making employment decisions based on a worker’s disability. Do you think OK Concrete committed disability discrimination?
The plaintiff had not immediately requested for extended periods of time off, nor had he even officially requested any time off. He had simply wanted to be up front with his new employers, and his courteousness was met with potentially wrongful termination.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for lost wages in addition to punitive damages and injunctive action against OK Concrete to prevent workplace discrimination in the future.
Dallas employment lawyer Dan A. Atkerson will work against workplace discrimination and will fight aggressively on behalf of anyone who has been wronged by discriminatory businesses.
