Denny's Policies Violate Workers' Rights, EEOC Claims
By Dave
Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
October 2, 2006
BALTIMORE,
MARYLAND--The Denny's restaurant chain has discriminated against workers with
disabilities by failing to provide reasonable accommodations, the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a federal lawsuit it filed last
Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, the case centers on Paula Hart, the
former manager of a Baltimore area Denny's, whose leg was amputated in December
2002. When Hart returned to work the following April, she was told her walker
presented a safety risk, the suit claims. She was later fired after using up
the 26 weeks of medical leave that Denny's provides for all employees.
The EEOC claims that Denny's violated Title I of the 1990 Americans with
Disabilities Act, which protects workers with disabilities from discrimination
in the workplace, when it failed to accommodate Hart's disability. The class
action suit further claims that the company's medical leave policy violates the
rights of workers with disabilities in Denny's restaurants across the country
because it has caused many to be fired illegally.
The suit asks the federal court to order Denny's to comply with the ADA
and stop using its maximum medical leave policy for workers who are legally
entitled to additional medical leave. It also seeks lost wages and benefits,
compensatory and punitive damages, and other relief for victims and the public,
the EEOC said in a press release.
Commenting on the suit, Daniel Davis, acting director for advocacy and
public policy with the National Council on Independent Living, told the AP:
"All too often, what happens in these kinds of cases is that people make
assumptions, and assumptions often lead to discrimination."
"There is often a tendency to describe people with disabilities as
safety risks based on paternalistic attitudes, where people make decisions for
others as to what they think is safe or not safe, and oftentimes those are
based on uninformed stereotypes."
Related:
"Denny's Sued by EEOC for Disability Bias Against Class
of Workers Nationwide" (EEOC)
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-28-06.html
"Suit
accuses Denny's of discriminating against disabled workers" (Associated Press
via Baltimore Examiner)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1002a.htm
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with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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