Optimal Solutions & Technologies Will Pay $60,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

BALTIMORE - Optimal Solutions & Technologies, Inc. (OST), a provider of cyber, engineer­ing, logistics and managed services, will pay $60,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to resolve a federal disability discrimination suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, a senior SharePoint administrator working at OST's Hyattsville, Md., facility informed his supervisor that he had a benign brain tumor which would require about six weeks of radiation treatment, and that the treatments, which would be scheduled after work, would not affect his ability to perform his job. The EEOC charged that despite his good job performance, OST abruptly fired the administrator about one month after he disclosed his medical condition and only one week before he was scheduled to begin his radiation treatment.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Optimal Solutions & Technologies (OST, Inc,), Civil Action No. 8:17-cv-02861) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to $60,000 in monetary relief for the worker, the two-year consent decree resolving the suit enjoins OST from violating the ADA in the future. In addition, OST must provide equitable relief, including redistribution of its ADA and reasonable accommodation policies to employees; training on the ADA; a neutral letter of reference for the employee; posting a notice of the settlement and posters required by EEOC regulations; and reporting to the EEOC on its compliance with the consent decree and on how it handles any future complaints of disability discrimination.

“This resolution compensates the worker for his losses and contains important remedial measures to protect other workers from disability discrimination,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence.

Jamie Williamson, district director of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office, added, “Employers should make employment decisions based on a worker’s ability to do the job – not based on unsubstantiated fears about his medical condition.”

The EEOC's Baltimore Field Office is one of four offices in the Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.  Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.