William Beaumont Hospital, doing business as Beaumont Health System, operators of Beaumont Hospital, located in Wayne, Michigan, failed to accommodate an employee with a disability, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Beaumont determined that the employee, a registered nurse, could not work fewer than 32 hours a week in her then-current position as an accommodation for her medical work restriction. The employee expressed interest in several jobs she believed she could have performed within her work hours restriction and asked to be placed in any of them. However, Beaumont refused to transfer her to a vacant position for which she was qualified, instead forcing her to apply and compete for openings, the EEOC said. After several months of submitting applications, the employee finally landed a position on her own.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires that employers reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities and includes reassignment to vacant positions as a possible accommodation. The EEOC is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the employee, and other relief from the hospital, including a permanent injunction preventing the hospital from engaging in future disability discrimination by refusing to accommodate employees with disabilities.
