FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced Physicians’ Specialty Hospital, a physician-owned hospital in Fayetteville, will pay $35,000 after allegations of disability discrimination.
According to the EEOC, the hospital failed to accommodate a nurse’s disability after she had a seizure. The nurse allegedly requested to either move to a position that did not have direct patient care responsibilities or take a short-term leave of absence until she was able to return to normal nurse duties. The hospital purportedly responded by firing her.
The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids such alleged conduct. Under the law, an employer cannot deny a qualified individual with a disability a reasonable accommodation, nor can it fire such a person because of a needed accommodation.
“Ensuring that people with disabilities have equal opportunities to succeed in the workplace is central to the ADA,” said Faye A. Williams, regional attorney of the EEOC's Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi. “EEOC remains committed to fighting disability discrimination.”