The EEOC and court do not want to hear why deaf workers were not hired.
The EEOC and court do not want to hear why deaf workers were not hired. Two young deaf men applied to work as stockers at a retail store. The store refused to hire them due to the disability and the store’s perception that their disabilities could not be accommodated. The EEOC and court strongly disagreed. In addition to a monetary payment of $66K to each worker. The court also ordered that the men be offered jobs; required that the store offer a sign language interpreter for training and orientation, performance evaluations and scheduled meetings; and required that the store produce and air a television commercial about hiring deaf and other disabled workers. Finally, the court ordered that the employer pay over $420K in attorneys’ fees to the disability organization that represented the men. This sends a strong message to employers that significant accommodations may be required to reasonably accommodate disabilities - and the failure to do so - is even more costly.
