J.A. Thomas & Associates Sued By EEOC For Disability Discrimination

Georgia Health Care Consulting Company Refused to Rehire Woman Due to Disability, Federal Agency Charged

DETROIT  -- J.A. Thomas & Associates, a health care consulting company based in Smyrna, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, violated  the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to rehire an employee  for a position she previously held because of a disability, the U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC's suit Case  No. 2:11-CV-13347, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of  Michigan, the discrimination victim, a woman from Detroit  who was a double amputee, was forced to resign her position with company when  she was unable to relocate to Georgia  due to her disability. The EEOC said the  woman would have been able to perform this job from home, as she requested. After  nearly six months of leaving the position unfilled, the company made the  position a remote/at-home position, which was what the woman had requested to  begin with. When the woman inquired  about rehire into her job, she was told that the company, concerned about her  disability, had hired another candidate.

The ADA protects employees and applicants for  employment from discrimination due to an actual or perceived disability. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  reach a voluntary settlement. The EEOC  is seeking an injunction to prohibit the company from engaging in this type of  discrimination in the future, as well as monetary relief on the behalf of the  victim.

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