The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed two lawsuits charging two separate employers with disability discrimination after they fired employees who had seizures at work. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on disability and from retaliating against individuals who request accommodation or oppose disability-based discrimination. These cases demonstrate the agency’s commitment to using its enforcement powers, as necessary, to address discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In the first suit, filed against Gollnick Construction, which does business as Colorado Excavating, the EEOC alleges the company engaged in disability discrimination when it fired office assistant Dora Marquez just four days after she suffered a seizure at work. Before firing Marquez, Colorado Excavating failed to engage in an interactive process with her to discuss potential accommodations. In the second suit, filed against Waterway Gas and Wash Company, a national provider of car wash services, the EEOC similarly alleges the company engaged in disability discrimination when it fired Tyson Aoyagi from its Lone Tree, Colorado location about two weeks after he suffered a seizure at work. Waterway refused to discuss his request for reasonable accommodation. According to EEOC’s suit, the company fired Aoyagi because of his disability and in retaliation for requesting reasonable accommodation.
