NEWS BRIEF: Grady Hospital sued for discrimination against disabled worker
EEOC says Grady should have accommodated employee
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for failing to accommodate an employee’s disability and then firing her because of it.
The unnamed employee had requested five weeks of leave from work due to a medical condition, according to the lawsuit. When the employee attempted to return from leave as scheduled, Grady refused to accept her doctor’s release and discharged her, allegedly for violating a work rule. The EEOC contends that this was a pretext for disability discrimination. “Grady claims to have strictly applied a work rule instead of processing its employee’s request for leave as an accommodation under the (Americans with Disabilities Act),” said EEOC attorney Marcus G. Keegan. “Had Grady simply accommodated its employee as the law requires, she would not have been fired and this situation would not have arisen.” jdsupra.com