American Flange and Greif, Inc. Pay $40,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

CHICAGO – Greif, Inc., an international manufacturing company, and American Flange, its wholly owned subsidiary operating in the western suburbs of Chicago, will pay $40,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

In the suit, the EEOC alleged that American Flange and Greif fired an employee with two absences that were sparked by a seizure disorder, even though the companies knew the absences were due to his medical condition.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on a person’s disability. The resolution resolves the agency’s lawsuit (EEOC v. American Flange and Greif, Inc., Case No:1:21-cv-05552-VMK) pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The defendants previously filed motions for summary judgment; the motion of Greif, the parent company, was granted, while the court denied American Flange’s motion and set the case for trial.

Under the consent decree settling the case, in addition to paying monetary relief to the former employee, American Flange will review, revise as necessary, and implement its anti-discrimination policies that prohibit disability discrimination. Managers and supervisory employees who oversee other employees will receive training on disability discrimination, including training on reasonable accommodations such as excused medical leave for absences that are due to a medical condition. American Flange will also post a notice at its facility informing employees of the resolution.

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.