CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced Xerox State Healthcare LLC (Xerox Healthcare) will pay $35,000 after allegations of violating federal disability laws.
Xerox Healthcare provides health care program administration services for programs such as long-term care and pharmacy benefits management. EEOC alleges the company failed to grant a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a disability to allow her to complete a mandatory pre-employment drug screening.
Victoria Dozer was diagnosed with end stage renal disease. She receives hemodialysis treatment to manage the disease. In September 2014, she was purportedly given a written employment offer with Xerox Healthcare. The offer was contingent on a drug test. EEOC alleged Dozer wanted to complete the test, but her disability meant that she could not provide a urine sample. Her dialysis center, however, could perform the drug test via a different method. Xerox Healthcare allegedly did not allow this and instead did not hire Dozier.
"The ADA's protections apply to a company's applicants just as they do to existing employees," said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for EEOC's Charlotte District Office. "When a company is aware that a qualified applicant needs a reasonable accommodation in order to complete an aspect of the hiring process, the company must grant that request unless it poses an undue hardship for the company."