PepsiCo to Pay $270,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

PepsiCo will pay $270,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the company failed to accommodate a blind employee and then terminated him.  According to the EEOC, PepsiCo hired a blind employee to work as a customer care advocate at its Winston-Salem, North Carolina call center in 2022. The employee requested accommodations that would allow him to access necessary information on the company’s computer systems, but the company allegedly concluded no accommodation was available and fired him. The EEOC also alleged PepsiCo rejected outside assistance offered to help identify accessibility solutions.  In addition to the monetary settlement, PepsiCo agreed to work with an accessibility consultant to improve software access for visually impaired employees, provide ADA training, update its accommodation policies, and report compliance efforts to the EEOC for two years.