Employers May Not Discriminate Against Employees with Disabilities

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled a disability discrimination lawsuit against Verizon Maryland, who will pay $115,000 to a management employee who suffered from hypertension and had asked for a change to a field position or an alternate management position to accommodate his disability. There was an opening for a field position which the employee previously held, but Verizon did not allow him to compete for that position, telling him he would have to resign and reapply for the position in six months. The lawsuit states the company offered no other accommodation, employee was not offered opportunities to compete for other vacant management positions, and the employee was forced to quit due to medical necessity. Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. See EEOC v. Verizon Maryland, LLC., Case No. 23cv-02428-MJM (D. Md.)