Company settles ADA suit with worker: Can EEOC still investigate?
The point of settling a lawsuit is to minimize the financial damage and prevent the company’s name from being dragged through the mud. In other words, to stop a problem before it becomes larger. But apparently, a settlement isn’t the end of the road for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Example: Rose Marie Porter was applying to KB Staffing, LLC. But prior to being offered a job, she was asked by KB to complete a health questionnaire.
To be legal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employer health questionnaires must be “job-related and consistent with business necessity,” or a part of a voluntary wellness program.
In a complaint to the EEOC, Porter claimed the questionnaire she was given met neither of those ADA requirements.
In addition to filing a complaint with the EEOC, Porter also filed a lawsuit in Florida state court alleging KB’s questionnaire violated Florida law.
KB then agree to pay Porter $12,500 to settler her allegations, and Porter withdrew her complaint from the EEOC.
KB also stopped using the pre-offer health questionnaire after Porter complained.
EEOC moves investigation forward
Despite Porter having withdrawn her charge, the EEOC decided to investigate KB’s hiring practices anyway.
The agency then subpoenaed KB, seeking copies of the health questionnaires it issued to applicants and a list of applicants who’d been asked to complete them.
KB filed a petition to revoke the EEOC’s subpoena. The company said the subpoena greatly exceeded the EEOC’s jurisdictional powers to request documents related to a claim that had been resolved.
KB also argued that no other applicants or employees complained of discrimination and it had stopped using the questionnaire, so no future applicants would be affected by it.
A magistrate judge disagreed with KB’s stance and enforced the EEOC’s subpoena, which essentially allows the agency to launch a full-blown investigation against KB.
The judge said the EEOC has the right to investigate systemic discriminatory conduct even after the original complainant has been made whole.
The ruling in a nutshell: Other individuals may have been affected by KB’s actions, and the EEOC has the right to fight for those potential victims as well.
Cite: EEOC v. KB Staffing, LLC
