EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Pennsylvania-Based Manufacturer to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit

February 11, 2011

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania – The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced settlement of a federal disability discrimination lawsuit that the agency has filed against renowned copper manufacturer, Hussey Copper Ltd., a press statement released in its website said.

The statement said the company has also agreed to pay $85,000 as settlement which also includes other remedial relief. The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit which claimed that the company had violated the law when it refused to hire a job applicant, Donald Teaford, who has a record of disability and regarded him as disabled.

As a result, the EEOC filed a suit in a federal district court for the Western District of Pennsylvania after both parties failed in its first attempt to reach a pre-litigation settlement through conciliation.

With the signing of the present consent decree, the parties have agreed to settle with the payment of $85,000 to Teaford as well as hiring him as a mason utility laborer.

The five-year consent decree also mandates the company to revise and disseminate policies prohibiting discrimination based on disability and required them to set up procedures for investigating and addressing such violations.

The EEOC also asked the company to provide anti-discrimination training and to post a notice on the settlement.