Refusing to Hire Due to a Disability Is Illegal

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against a national staffing agency, alleging that the agency refused to refer an applicant to a job because of the applicant’s disability.  The EEOC’s lawsuit claims that the applicant, who is deaf, sought a position in a warehouse through Lyneer Staffing.  At first, the applicant was referred to and then assigned a start date at a warehouse.  Before she began working there, however, a manager at the staffing agency instructed a subordinate employee at Lyneer to cancel the job placement.  Lyneer then informed the applicant that they could not place them in that position because the employer did not have a sign language interpreter, despite the employer being willing at all times to employ the applicant.  This alleged conduct is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and prospective employee because of a disability.  See EEOC v. Lyneer Staffing Solutions, LLC., Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-02454 (D. Md.).