EEOC Sues Heart of Texas Goodwill for Disability Discrimination

WACO, Texas – Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries, Inc., a Texas-based non-profit retailer, violated federal law when it failed to hire an applicant because she was deaf, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

According to the lawsuit, Heart of Texas Goodwill refused to consider an applicant who is deaf for a job tagging and sorting merchandise at its store in Killeen, Texas. The EEOC’s complaint alleges that a manager told the applicant that she was not eligible for a position because her disability might raise a safety concern. In response, the applicant suggested a potential reasonable accommodation to address any safety concerns and indicated she had worked in an identical position at another Goodwill store without issue. While the manager told the applicant she would inquire with the human resources department about the applicant’s request for an accommodation, Heart of Texas Goodwill failed to follow up with the applicant and refused to move forward with the hiring process, based on the incorrect assumption that individuals who are deaf are incapable of working safely in a retail setting.

This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from making hiring decisions based on an individual's disability or need for reasonable accommodation and requires them to make accommodations absent an undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 6:24-cv-00498 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. In this case, the EEOC seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief, including an order barring Heart of Texas Goodwill from engaging in discriminatory treatment in the future.

“Denying consideration to job applicants who are deaf, without regard to their individual qualifications, violates federal law,” said Alexa Lang, a senior trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas office. “Employers have a legal obligation to treat applicants who are able to perform the essential functions of their job with or without an accommodation in a way that affords them a true opportunity to be employed.”

EEOC’s Dallas district regional attorney, Robert Canino, said, “It is contrary to the intent of the ADA if job possibilities are denied to individuals based on nothing more than generalized assumptions about what a person with a disability might or might not be able to do. In this case, the job seeker had previously done similar work. A store that is part of a larger Goodwill organization should engage in a focused approach that fully considers an applicant’s individual ability and experience —there are various accommodations available for persons with hearing impairments.”  

For more information about disability discrimination against individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/hearing-disabilities-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act. For more information on disability discrimination generally, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Dallas District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in parts of Texas and parts of New Mexico.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment

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