The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to Pay $20,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

Fayetteville  Worker Fired Over Bleeding Disorder, Federal Agency Charged

FAYETTEVILLE,  N.C. – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will pay $20,000 and provide other  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 lawsuit (EEOC v. The  Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Civil Action No. 5:11-cv-00468), filed  in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the EEOC  charged that in October 2007, Alisha Adams applied for the position of tire  builder at Goodyear's Fayetteville facility and received a conditional offer of  employment.  During Goodyear's post-offer  medical examination, Adams disclosed that she had menorrhagia, a bleeding  disorder associated with her menstrual cycle.   The complaint alleged that as a result of this disclosure, Goodyear  required Adams to obtain medical clearances from two separate physicians who  medically cleared her to work. Adams began working for Goodyear at the end of  January, 2008.  Some three weeks later,  Adams told her supervisor that she had a bleeding disorder and was fired as a  result, the EEOC alleged. 

Such  alleged behavior violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which  prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.  The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  settle the case through its conciliation process.

In  addition to paying $20,000, Goodyear has agreed to re-hire Adams to work at its  Fayetteville plant.  Goodyear also must  take other actions set forth in the two-year consent decree resolving the case,  including providing anti-dis­crimination training to the managers, human  resources department and supervisors in the company's Fayetteville plant.  Further, the company must post a notice at  its Fayetteville plant information concerning employees' rights under federal  anti-discrim­ination laws and must provide periodic reports to the EEOC on its  hiring practices.

"The EEOC is committed to fighting  discrimination in the workplace," said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for  the EEOC's Charlotte District Office.   "Employers must be careful not to make assumptions about an individual  based on his or her disability." 

According  to company information, Goodyear is the largest tire manufacturer in North  America and Latin America and the second largest in Europe.  Goodyear is headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and  employs over 69,000 people around the world.

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