EEOC Sues Sims Recycling and All-Star Personnel for Disability Discrimination

International Recycling Company and Staffing Agency Refused to Assign Employee With Hearing Loss, Federal Agency Charges

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An international electronics recycling company and a local staffing agency refused to assign an employee because of her hearing impairment in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Com­mission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

In its complaint, the EEOC charges that Sims Recycling Solutions, Inc. and All-Star Personnel, Inc. violated federal law by refusing to assign an individual temporary work because she has a hearing impairment.  The EEOC's suit contends that All-Star assigned the employee to work at a Sims recycling facility in LaVergne, Tenn.  According to the complaint, when Sims learned the employee had a hearing impairment, Sims and All-Star told the employee she could not work there.

Denying an individual employment opportunities because of a hearing impairment is a form of disability discrimination and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action 3:15-cv-00136) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division after first attempting to settle the matter out of court through its conciliation process.

"Sims and All-Star decided that an employee, simply because of her hearing impairment, could not do her job," said Katharine W. Kores, district director of the EEOC's Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi.  "The purpose of the ADA is to make sure that employers ask questions and decide based on facts, not their assumptions."

According to its website, www.simsrecycling.com, Sims Recycling Solutions partners with local, national, and global businesses in the recycling of electronics and computers.  It operates 23 facilities in Europe and has operations in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.

According to its website, http://www.all-starpersonnel.com, All-Star is a staffing agency with five locations in and around Nashville, with its corporate headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. 

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.