EEOC Sues Reliable Maintenance Solutions for Disability Discrimination

ATLANTA – Reliable Maintenance Solutions, Inc., which provides quarry services for mine sites in Georgia, violated federal law when it refused to hire an applicant because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit recently filed.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the applicant sought to work for Reliable as a dump truck operator in March 2021. The applicant is a right-arm amputee with years of work experience operating dump trucks, and he was working as a dump truck operator at the time of his application to Reliable. The company interviewed the applicant for the position and assured him that his status as an amputee would not be an impediment to his hiring. Although the applicant then successfully completed safety training, Reliable claimed at least one of its clients was uncomfortable with an amputee being employed as a dump truck operator and the applicant was not hired.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Reliable Maintenance Solutions, Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-00093-RWS-JCF) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“At its core, the ADA prohibits employers from refusing to hire a qualified individual because of a disability,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “Reliable Maintenance Solutions initially determined that the applicant was qualified for the position he sought. But then the employer subjected the applicant to additional layers of review and violated the ADA when it refused to hire him because of his disability.”

Darrell Graham, district director of the Atlanta office, said, “The ADA requires employers to remove barriers to employment for qualified individuals with disabilities — not create them. The EEOC is committed to enforcing the ADA and ensuring that Americans with disabilities have equal access to employment.”

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Atlanta District Office has jurisdiction over the State of Georgia and the Counties of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper, and Williamsburg in the State of South Carolina.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.