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Failure to Accommodate Leave Time Under The ADA

ADA Failure to Accommodate

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STANLEY BLACK & DECKER WILL PAY $140,000 TO SETTLE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION (ADA) SUIT

Tool Manufacturer Fired Employee Who Needed Leave for Medical Treatment

Stanley Black & Decker Inc., a global diversified industrial company, will pay $140,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit.

Stanley Black & Decker fired an inside sales representative, who had exceeded her sales goals and quotas, at its Towson, Md., facility in December 2016 for poor attend­ance. The EEOC charged that the termination violated federal law because the employee had requested unpaid leave for medical appointments and treatment related to her cancer, but the company failed to provide the requested leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA of her disability. Moreover, the company’s inside sales attendance policy did not provide exceptions for people who need leave as an accommodation to their disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits workplace discrimination based on disability. The ADA requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities, unless it would pose an undue hardship.

In addition to the $140,000 in monetary relief to the employee, the three-year consent decree resolving the suit provides substantial equitable relief, including enjoining Stanley Black & Decker from denying reasonable accommodations or violating the ADA in the future. The company will update its inside sales attendance policy to provide for reasonable accommodations. Stanley Black & Decker will provide annual training at its Towson facility to inside sales managers, supervisors and human resources personnel on the ADA and its reasonable accommodation requirements.