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Press Release 09-27-2024

Employment & Training Centers to Pay $35,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Federal Agency Charged HR Firm With Refusing to Accommodate Applicant Because of His Kidney Disability

HOUSTON – Employment & Training Centers, Inc. (ETC), a human resource consulting firm, will pay $35,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, following a conditional job offer, ETC refused to reasonably accommodate an applicant who said he was unable to produce a urine specimen for drug testing because of end-stage kidney disease. The company failed to provide an alternative method of drug testing and rescinded the job offer, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing and other employment actions based on mental and physical disabilities. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Employment & Training Centers, Inc., Case No. 4:23-CV-3201) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. The court entered a consent decree on Aug. 16.

“One of the EEOC’s national priorities focuses on barriers to employment, including those involving disabilities,” said Rudy Sustaita, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Houston.

Carolyn Martin, a trial attorney for the case said, "We are pleased with this resolution, not only for the relief that it provides to the aggrieved individual, but also because it requires that alternate forms of drug testing must be made available to this employer’s applicants and employees who are unable to provide urine samples because of a disability.”

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

The EEOC’s Houston District Office has jurisdiction over southeast Texas and Louisiana.

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.