The Timken Company Sued By EEOC For Disability And Sex Discrimination

Federal Agency Charges Manufacturer Violated Federal Law by Refusing to Hire Employee Based on Gender and Association with Her Disabled Child

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC) today announced it has filed a disability and sex discrimination lawsuit  against global manu­facturer The Timken Company. The suit alleges that Timken refused to hire an employee for a full-time position as a process technician because of her  gender and because she is the mother of a disabled child.

Timken manufactures precision ball bearings and other  friction management and power transmission products. The company employs more than 25,000  employees world-wide.

According  to the EEOC's lawsuit, Timken violated the Americans With Disabilities Act  (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to hire Carmen  Halloren for a full-time position in July 2007.  Halloren, whose son is disabled, had worked at a Timken facility in Randleman, N.C.,  as a part-time process associate for four years. The EEOC charged that Halloren applied for a  full-time process technician position, but Timken refused to hire Halloren due  to concerns about her ability to work full-time and care for a disabled child.

The  EEOC asserted that Timken's conduct violated the ADA, which protects employees and applicants  from discrimination based on association with people with disabilities, and  Title VII, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court  for the Middle District of North Carolina (Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission v. The  Timken Company, Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-00113), after first attempting to  reach a voluntary settlement out of court.  The suit seeks compensatory damages and punitive damages for Halloren,  as well as injunctive and other non-monetary relief.

"Employers  must recognize that they cannot discriminate against employees because they  happen to be caregivers for disabled children or others with disabilities,"  said Lynette A. Barnes, the EEOC's regional attorney for the Charlotte District  Office. "The EEOC charges that this is clearly  what happened in this case -- Timken discriminated against Ms. Halloren because  of her caregiver status. Women who are  caregivers must be afforded the same rights and privileges of employment as men  and other women who are not caregivers.  It's appalling to think that any employer would penalize the parent of a  disabled child -- whether that parent is male or female -- because he or she  provides care to a person who has a disability."

Tina Burnside, supervisory trial  attorney in the EEOC's Charlotte District Office, added, "Under the ADA and  Title VII, employers cannot make employment decisions based on stereo­typical  assumptions that a female employee with a disabled child would have to miss  work or could not perform the job because the employee provides care for a  disabled person."

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