Vitas Health Care Corporation of Florida, a Miami hospice care provider, will pay $65,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency recently announced.
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Download NowIn its lawsuit, EEOC charged that Vitas failed to reassign a registered nurse to a vacant position for which she was qualified after she became unable to perform her job duties due to high blood pressure. Instead, Vitas required her to compete with other applicants for the position and then awarded it to another applicant.
In addition to the monetary settlement, Vitas has agreed to amend its disability policy to include reassignment to a vacant position as a reasonable accommodation. Further, Vitas agreed to provide related training and report disability complaints to EEOC for 2 years.
Malcolm Medley, EEOC district director in Miami, said, “Under the law, it is incumbent upon employers to accommodate an employee’s request for an accommodation when it would not impose an undue hardship. We’re glad Vitas worked with us to reach this settlement.”