ASHN and Beaumont ASHN to Pay $65,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Settles Federal Suit Charging Home Health Care Companies Failed to Reasonably Accommodate In-Home Therapist Using Ridesharing
DETROIT – Alternate Solutions Health Network, LLC, and its affiliated entity Beaumont ASHN, LLC, (collectively ASHN), providers of home health care services, will pay $65,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a former employee who worked as an in-home occupational therapist suffered a grand mal seizure and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and seizure disorder. The former employee requested the ability to use a ridesharing service as transportation to patients’ homes. ASHN denied her request and then fired her, the EEOC said.
The alleged conduct violated the American Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 2:23-cv-13043 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
Under the two-and-a-half-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit, ASHN will pay $65,000 in monetary damages to the former employee; train human resources and management employees on compliance with the ADA; develop a reasonable accommodation policy to includes examples of possible accommodations; and submit annual reports regarding reasonable accommodation requests.
“This employee could have continued working as an occupational therapist if she had been permitted to use alternative transportation to get to work,” said Miles Uhlar, senior trial attorney for the EEOC’s Detroit Field Office. “Employers must carefully and honestly assess whether an employee can perform all essential functions of their position with a proposed reasonable accommodation.”
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination-and-employment-decisions. For more information on reasonable accommodations, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources/reasonable-accommodation.
The EEOC’s Detroit Field Office is part of the Indianapolis District Office, which oversees Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and parts of Ohio.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC.gov)
