Fox Den Apartments to Pay $37,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Suit

Property  Manager Was Terminated After Heart Attack, Federal Agency Charged

ATLANTA -Oxford Glenn Of  Wrightsboro, LLC, Stansberry and Company LLC, and Stansberry Management, LLC,  d/b/a Fox Den Apartments will pay $37,000  to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

The federal agency had charged  that the owners of the Fox Den apartment complex, located in Augusta, Ga.,  subjected the property manager of the complex to disability discrimination when  they advertised to find a replacement for her position the same day she suffered  a heart attack on the job.  The EEOC  alleged that when the employee attempted to return to work, she learned that  she had been terminated. 

Such alleged conduct  violates the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) which requires employers to  provide reasonable accommodations-including leave-to individuals with  disabilities absent undue hardship, and prohibits adverse employment actions  based on disability. The EEOC filed the suit in EEOC v. Oxford  Glenn of Wrightsboro, LLC, Stansberry and Company LLC, and Stansberry Management,  LLC d/b/a Fox Den Apartments (Civil  Action No., 2:11-cv-00263), on September 27, 2011 in U.S. District Court  for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division.  

The consent decree  settling the suit provides $37,000 for the former property manager and includes  provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and  postings. 

"The ADA was enacted to  stop employers from assuming an employee cannot do a job when they become  disabled" said Robert Dawkins, regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta  District Office.  "The Commission is  pleased that the defendants committed to resolving this matter and to put measures  in place to ensure nothing like this occurs in the future."

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