JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) — Retailer Pacific Sunwear of California (PacSun) is being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for allegedly refusing to consider a wheelchair-bound applicant for a position at one of its stores.
The EEOC alleges in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida that PacSun violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after a John Sumner, who was in a wheelchair, was told the store was not hiring. The store told other applicants without disabilities that multiple positions were being filled, according to the EEOC.
"Employers must make hiring decisions based on an individual's qualifications rather than on generalizations, ignorance, patronizing attitudes or stereotypes," EEOC regional attorney Robert Weisberg said in a statement.
"PacSun could have saved itself a lot of trouble if it had simply inquired into Mr. Sumner's ability to do the job instead of lying to him based on its prejudices."