EEOC Files Disability Discrimination Suit Against Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed suit against Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. (CHOA), a pediatric healthcare system based in Atlanta. According to the lawsuit, the company violated federal law when it failed to provide a job applicant with a reasonable disability-related accommodation and rescinded its employment offer because the applicant had a disability.

The EEOC alleged that CHOA required all of its employees to get a flu vaccination. However, the applicant for a registration associate position requested a disability-related exemption due to a severe egg allergy, which can be triggered by a standard flu vaccination. The applicant provided medical documentation to establish that they had an allergy to the flu vaccine, but CHOA failed to provide a reasonable accommodation. This accommodation could have taken the form of giving the applicant a vaccine without eggs in it or allowing the employee to go unvaccinated. Instead, the EEOC contends that CHOA rescinded its application for employment and filled the position with an internal candidate who had “no issue” taking the flu vaccine.

This is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company was in a position to make a reasonable accommodation to a prospective applicant and appeared set on hiring them. Instead, the company rescinded the offer of employment after the applicant discussed their allergy to eggs and indicated that they couldn’t take an egg-based vaccine.

The Americans with Disabilities Act 

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a sweeping piece of legislation that makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA also outlaws discrimination against those with disabilities in state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. The law is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the various state and local agencies that work with them.

The ADA makes it illegal for any company with more than 15 employees to discriminate against a job applicant based on a disability so long as the applicant is still able to carry out the duties of the job. In the case mentioned above, the applicant’s work performance would not have been affected had they been given a reasonable accommodation by the hiring company.

Ultimately, the ADA is there to protect employees from just this type of situation.

Can an employer require me to take a vaccine? 

That’s a complicated question. The answer is generally, yes. In most cases, an employer can require an employee to take a vaccine as a condition of working. However, if you have a bona fide allergy to the vaccine or any other medical reason that renders you unable to take a vaccine, then the employer is expected to waive the requirement under the ADA. An allergy is considered a disability.

Talk to an Atlanta, GA Employment Discrimination Attorney Today 

If you have been denied employment based on a bona fide disability, you may be entitled to file suit against the employer under the ADA. Call the Atlanta employment law attorneys at Forsythe Law Firm, LLC today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your situation right away.

Source:

jdsupra.com/legalnews/eeoc-sues-children-s-healthcare-of-7206190/