Personal Touch Home Care Of Ohio to Pay $35,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

Company Fired Employee Because of  Renal and Respiratory Conditions, Federal Agency Charged

LOUISVILLE,  Ky. – Hamilton, Ohio-based home health care services provider Personal Touch  Home Care, with 50 locations in 13 states, will pay $35,000 and furnish other remedial  relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC's suit, Personal  Touch fired Pamula Calfee because of her disabilities: renal failure, COPD  (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and asthma. Calfee had worked for Personal Touch since  2000 and had no problems performing her job even with her disabilities.

Such alleged conduct violates the  Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The  EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No.1:11-c v-00042-SJD) in U.S. District Court for  the Southern District of Ohio, Cincinnati Division after first attempting to  reach a pre-litigation settlement

Personal Touch  consented to a two-year consent decree in which it agreed to pay $35,000 in  compensation and also agreed to provide training to all of its supervisors and  managers in its Southwest Ohio region  concerning disability discrimination.

"Treating an employee badly based on  a physical impairment violates the very core of the ADA, and the EEOC will continue to fight for  the rights of disability discrimination victims," said Laurie Young, regional  attorney for the EEOC's Indianapolis District Office.

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