Singley Construction to Pay $30,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination and Retaliation Suit

JACKSON, Miss. – Singley Construction Company, Inc., a construction company headquartered in Columbia, Mississippi, has agreed to pay $30,000 and provide other relief to settle claims of disability discrimination and retaliation in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, Singley refused to accommodate an employee with end-stage renal disease by allowing her to perform continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in a vacant office during her lunch break. The EEOC also charged that the company forced the employee from her job based on her disability and her protected activity. Specifically, the EEOC asserted that the company forced the employee to quit by reducing her hours and pay and informing her that it planned to replace her.

Such alleged conduct violated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. The ADA also prohibits retaliation for requesting accommodation or filing a charge of disability discrimination with the EEOC.

The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Singley Construction Company, Inc., case no. 2:23-cv-00106) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, the EEOC worked with Singley to reach an early settlement of the litigation.

As part of the settlement, Singley also agreed to conduct training on disability discrimination and retaliation under the ADA for all of its employees, including supervisors and management. The company will also be required to update its anti-discrimination policies and implement a policy addressing requests for reasonable accommodations under the ADA.

“The ADA guarantees equal employment opportunity for Americans with disabilities by requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations for them,” said EEOC Birmingham District Director Bradley Anderson. “All employers covered by the ADA must accommodate employees with disabilities unless they can show with real evidence — not stereotype or speculation — that doing so would impose an undue hardship.”

Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District, said, “The ADA prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for either requesting accommodations or exercising their right to file a charge of discrimination. The EEOC will continue to address cases of unlawful retaliation so we can preserve employees’ access to the legal system.”

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

The EEOC’s Birmingham District consists of Alabama, Mississippi (except 17 northern counties) and the Florida Panhandle.

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.