NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans marine transport company has resolved allegations by the federal government that it fired a deckhand due to his pancreatitis, even though the employee's condition never impeded his work.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Commission (EEOC), a deckhand working with Otto Candies LLC was told he was being fired for his recurrent pancreatitis even though his doctor and the U.S. Coast Guard had determined his condition did not affect his work. The alleged conduct by the company violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC said.
"This settlement is both strong and just," EEOC Houston District Office regional attorney Rudy Sustaita said in a statement. "Otto Candies has given us every indication that it intends to comply with the ADA in the future."
The two-year consent decree includes $165,000 in monetary relief to the fired employee and other non-monetary relief, according to the EEOC. Otto Candies also will be required to implement ADA training for its employees.