Aspire Health Partners, a non-profit behavioral healthcare organization headquartered in Orlando, Fla., violated federal law by refusing to hire a former employee based upon medical records in her workers’ compensation claim file, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s suit, the employee worked for Aspire for over 20 years, during which she developed and oversaw Aspire’s Village House program and received numerous awards for her work. Aspire terminated the employee after she suffered from a workplace injury and exhausted her medical leave. After her doctor cleared her to work without restrictions, she applied for a position within the same program. Hours before her interview, the former employee was notified that she was ineligible for rehire at Aspire due to her prior workers’ compensation file. Even after she reached out to Aspire’s chief operating officer, she was not allowed to interview for the position, the EEOC said.
Disability discrimination violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The agency seeks back pay and compensatory and punitive damages for the former employee. The suit also seeks injunctive relief to prevent and correct disability discrimination and training of Aspire’s human resources officials about federal equal employment opportunity laws.
