ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced last week that McDonald’s Corporation and McDonald’s Restaurants of Missouri will pay $56,500 after allegations of refusing to interview a deaf job applicant at its restaurant in Belton because of his deafness.
"Federal law clearly requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to deaf and hearing-impaired employees and applicants," EEOC St. Louis District director James R. Neely Jr. said.
The deaf applicant applied for a position online in June 2012 with past experience at a McDonald’s in another state. According to EEOC, the restaurant manager conducting interviews learned the applicant could not speak or hear and therefore canceled the interview.
The young man’s sister allegedly volunteered to act as interpreter, but McDonald’s still denied the interview. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Unemployment rates for disabled workers far exceed those of the general population, and employers create a huge barrier to employment when they fail to provide necessary reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities,” EEOC regional attorney Andrea G. Baran said.
“Such behavior is shortsighted in addition to being unlawful."