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Select List of Resolved Cases Involving Mental Health Conditions Under the ADA (as of May 2022)

(Civil Action No. 5:21-CV-00443-MTT, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia)

Ranew’s Management Company, Inc., a provider of fabrication, coating, and assembly products to pay $250,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, diagnosed with severe depression, was terminated.  The employee had requested and been granted time off to recuperate, per his doctor’s recommendation.  When the employee tried to return to work and presented a doctor’s release, he was fired by the company’s CEO and told he couldn’t be trusted to perform his job.  In addition to monetary relief, Ranew’s agreed to take steps to implement and distribute an ADA policy, train its executives, managers, and employees on the ADA’s obligations, and post a notice.

(Civil Action No.1:21-CV-01098, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia)

Labor sourcing companies TrueBlue, Inc. and PeopleReady, Inc. agreed to pay $125,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, diagnosed with a psychiatric disability, was hospitalized and medically cleared to return to work but nonetheless terminated by the companies.  The suit alleged that the termination was also based on the employee’s need to take future intermittent leave for outpatient medical appointments.  In addition to monetary relief, TrueBlue, Inc. and PeopleReady, Inc. agreed to implement an ADA reasonable accommo­dation policy, engage in the interactive process to consider requests for medical leave as a reasonable accommodation, provide ADA compliance training, and submit periodic reports to the EEOC.   

(Civil Action No. 2:20-CV-02511, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana)

Hollingsworth Richards, LLC, a vehicle and equipment dealership operator (d/b/a Honda of Covington) agreed to pay $100,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, who disclosed she had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was taking medication under the supervision of a healthcare provider, was discharged.  An operations manager told the employee to stop taking medication and ordered her to take a drug test; the employee was then discharged before confirmed test results were received.  In addition to monetary relief, Hollingsworth Richards, LLC agreed to conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC, and post a notice that affirms its obligations under the ADA and states that employees can report violations to the EEOC. 

(Civil Action No. 1:19-CV-5484-AT, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia)

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., a managed health care provider (part of Kaiser Permanente organization) agreed to pay $130,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, whose disabilities made it traumatic for her to access her workplace through revolving doors, had requested to use the available non-revolving doors as a reasonable accommodation.  Kaiser refused and forced the employee to use the revolving doors.  Notably, the court held that a reasonable accommodation need not relate to the performance of an essential function of the job; employees with disabilities are also entitled to accommodations to access the workplace and to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment as other employees.  In addition to monetary relief, Kaiser agreed to train its employees on the ADA, make changes to its employment forms, and allow the EEOC to monitor how it handles future requests for accommodation under the ADA. 

(Civil Action No. 1:20-CV-00311, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee)

A pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing company, Lonza America LLC, agreed to pay $150,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which a 14-year employee, a recovering opioid addict, was terminated after twice testing positive for a legally controlled substance.  Lonza later learned the employee was a recovering opioid addict participating in a medication-assisted treatment program with a legal prescription for an opioid medication but forced him into counseling with a clinical psychologist and conditioned his return to work on discontinued use of the legally prescribed medication.  In addition to monetary relief, Lonza agreed to provide ADA-related training. 

(Case No. 8:20-CV-00644-SCB-SPF, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida)

An electronics manu­facturer, Interconnect Cable Technologies Corporation (ICTC), agreed to pay $35,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, who was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and hospitalized, was stripped of her job duties, demoted, and had her pay cut upon returning to work after her hospitalization.  ICTC terminated her employment about four months after her hospitalization.  In addition to monetary relief, ICTC agreed to appoint an ADA coordinator, develop and distribute a written policy against disability discrimination, conduct anti-discrimination training for all company personnel, post a notice at its worksite about the lawsuit, and submit annual written reports to the EEOC. 

(Civil Action No.3:17-CV-00538-N, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas)

A  large defense contractor, L-3 Communications, agreed to pay $75,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which a 6-year employee, who went on medical leave after suffering two depressive episodes, was required to submit to a fitness-for-duty exam, even after receiving treatment and being released to return to work by his physician.  The psychologist who conducted the fitness-for-duty exam concluded that the employee could return to work, but instead L-3 ended his employment by giving him the option to resign or be fired.  In addition to monetary relief, L-3 Communications agreed to conduct employee training on the ADA. 

(Civil Action No. 1:18-CV-00838-PB, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire)

Party City Corporation, a national discount and costume retailer, agreed to pay $155,000 to settle this ADA failure to hire lawsuit.  The job applicant, a qualified individual with a disability (on the autism spectrum, severe anxiety) required a job coach as a reasonable accommodation for her disabilities.  During the applicant’s job interview, the hiring manager made disparaging comments and told the job coach present at the interview that Party City had previously had bad experiences hiring applicants who required job coaches.  The job applicant and job coach explained to the hiring manager that the job applicant had been successful shadowing others in previous retail jobs, but the hiring manager was unmoved.  The hiring manager tried to cut the interview short by telling the job coach in a patronizing tone, “Thank you for bringing her here,” while the applicant was still in the room.  The hiring manager also stated, in the applicant’s presence, that the Party City employee who had encouraged the applicant to apply would hire anyone, “even hire an ant.”  In addition to monetary relief, Party City is enjoined from discriminating against qualified applicants with job coaches in the future; is required to revise and improve its reasonable accommodation policy and train human resource employees on the new policy and distribute it to all employees; report to the EEOC on all denials of employment to applicants with job coaches; and provide a notice regarding the decree to employees within the region where the store is located. 

(Case No. 2:16-cv-13540, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan)

Greektown Casino LLC, a Detroit casino operator, agreed to pay $140,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee requested an additional four weeks of extended leave following a stress-anxiety-related collapse on the job.  Greektown denied the request and subsequently fired the employee after his leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was exhausted.  In addition to monetary relief, Greektown agreed to train supervisory and human resources employees on the requirements of the ADA. 

(Case No. 2:17-CV-00063-SWS, U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming)

Mine Rite Technologies, LLC, a manufacturing company, agreed to pay $75,000 to settle this ADA lawsuit in which an employee, a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was harassed by his supervisor, who referred to the employee as a “psycho” to his coworkers and made comments about “Psycho Thursday” because this was the day of the week that the employee attended therapy sessions for his PTSD.  When the harassment became intolerable, the employee was forced to quit to avoid further abuse.  In addition to monetary relief, the consent decree includes an injunction against future discrimination based on disability and a requirement that Mine Rite create and implement EEO policies.  Mine Rite is also required to train its employees and to provide a letter of apology and a letter of recommendation for the employee. 

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