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Damar Services, an Indianapolis-based disability support organization, has agreed to pay $65,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit over its hiring standards.
The organization was accused of rejecting a qualified housekeeper applicant because he was deaf, according to the original lawsuit filed in March by the United States Equal Employment Commission.
“Damar’s mission is serving individuals challenged by disabilities, and that important work continues without interruption,” Dr. Jenny Peters, chief strategy officer with Damar, told The Indiana Lawyer. “We disagree with the allegations in this matter and resolved it to avoid prolonged litigation. We are eager to turn our full attention back to supporting the thousands of children and adults who rely on us, and who are eager to move from crisis and vulnerability to stability, growth, and independence.”
In March 2023, Damar’s talent acquisition coordinator conducted a phone interview with Corey Garner, who had applied for a housekeeper position with the organization.
During the interview, Damar learned Garner was deaf and informed him that the company couldn’t accommodate his disability, according to court documents.
Following the interview, Damar rejected Garner for the role, stating that he lacked experience. But the lawsuit argues that Damar had not identified an experience requirement in the job posting on Indeed.com, though the organization said elsewhere that the position required three years of experience. Garner had one to two years of experience.
A couple weeks after Garner’s interview, Damar hired a different applicant with less experience, according to court documents.
The EEOC also sued Damar for its general hiring standards, which they argued discriminated against applicants with hearing and vision disabilities. According to the lawsuit, the organization used a “phone screen guide” on phone interviews that included pre-screen questions with fields for the applicant’s responses.
Two of the pre-screen questions were, “Are you able to see in the normal visual range with or without correction?” and “Are you able to hear in the normal audio range with or without correction?” The EEOC stated that these questions were prohibited medical inquiries.
After trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Damar in March in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana alleging conduct in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Apart from paying $65,000 in monetary relief under a two-year consent decree, Damar must update and implement policies and procedures to remove any vision- and hearing-related requirements from its job postings. Damar must also consult with a vocational rehabilitation specialist to review the organization’s policies and facilities, conduct staff training and issue reports to the EEOC.
“The EEOC is appreciative that Damar worked cooperatively to negotiate an early resolution to this suit,” Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Indianapolis District, said in a press release. “Employers must satisfy strict requirements if they impose a qualification standard that screens out an individual with a disability.”
The case is Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Damar Services, Inc., 1:26-cv-00575-MPB-KMB.
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