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A Fort Wayne-based wholesale bakery has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In addition to paying the settlement, the bakery will also amend its workplace policies and offer additional training on the Americans with Disabilities Act to its employees., according to an EEOC news release.
According to the lawsuit, Holsum of Fort Wayne Inc. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2021 when it failed to provide one of its employees with a reasonable accommodation while on the job and then required her to take leave and eventually terminated her employment.
“The ADA prohibits an employer from forcing an employee with a disability off the job when a reasonable accommodation is available and will allow that employee to continue working,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Kenneth Bird in a released statement. “When an employer refuses to consider such an accommodation, it ignores its obligation under the law.”
Holsum was represented by Jacob Fulcher and Joshua Gessling of Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP in Evansville. The attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Indiana Lawyer.
The employee, Pamela Miller, had medical conditions that required her to use a walker to walk through the Holsum facility and perform her job duties, the lawsuit states.
In and before August 2020, Miller was authorized to use her walker on the job. In July 2021, she was told that her use of the walker on Holsum’s production floor violated the company’s Good Manufacturing Practices Policy.
Miller provided Holsum with documentation from her physician that specified that she needed the walker because of her disability. But instead of accommodating her disability, the company instructed her to take a leave of absence if she couldn’t walk without her walker, according to court documents.
In November 2021, Holsum terminated her employment.
Under the three-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit, Holsum has agreed to the following conditions:
- Pay $50,000 to Miller
- Adopt or amend certain policies and procedures to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Provide annual disabilities act training to its human resources team
- Submit annual reports to the EEOC regarding reasonable accommodation requests made by Holsum employees
The case is Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Holsum of Fort Wayne, Inc., 3:24-cv-00702-CCB-SJF.
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