PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania staffing agency refused to hire a worker for a food packaging position due to a learning and other mental disabilities, according to a federal agency.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against Adecco USA Inc., alleging disability discrimination after it said the company denied a request from a disabled worker with reading comprehension difficulty to have an employment test read for test administration purposes and causing him to fail the test.
According to the EEOC, the company then agreed for the disabled worker to retake the test with the requested accommodation, which the worker passed. However, Adecco allegedly failed to hire the worker for that position, saying he was "too slow" for the post.
"Individuals with disabilities continue to face needless, discriminatory obstacles to full participation in the American workplace," EEOC regional attorney Debra Lawrence said in a statement. "The ADA requires that employers and staffing agencies refrain from excluding individuals with disabilities from job opportunities on the basis of their disabilities, whether such exclusions are based on bigotry, stereotypes, myths and unwarranted fears, or unintended barriers to employment of disabled workers."
The EEOC says Adecco violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to hire the disabled worker for the type of work that he desired due to actual and perceived disability.