Good intentions can cost you $50K under the ADA: Here’s how
Let’s give this employer the benefit of the doubt and assume it was trying to do the right thing. Even if that was the case, its actions still appear to have violated the ADA.
The company in question is Baldwin Supply Company, a Minneapolis-based distributor.
It employed Timothy Collins to install conveyor belts — until he had a heart attack.
According to the EEOC, a month after Collins’ heart attack, he was released by his doctor to resume work with no restrictions. Baldwin then only let Collins return for two days before terminating him.
Reading between the lines, one could surmise that Baldwin had the best of intentions in this case: trying to keep Collins from performing a job it felt could be detrimental to his health condition.
After all, installing conveyor belts sounds like taxing work — and may trigger another heart attack.
But whether or not he should return to work was a decision for Collins to make — not Baldwin, according to the EEOC.
ADA lawsuit filed
When the EEOC caught wind of Collins’ termination, it sued the employer on his behalf, alleging Baldwin violated the ADA.
The ADA protects employees from being discriminated against based on perceived disabilities. And assuming the EEOC’s telling of Collins’ story is accurate, it appears as though Baldwin did discriminate against him based on a disability the employer thought he had — even if it did so for Collins’ own good.
The EEOC’s lawsuit sought back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief.
What it got was Baldwin agreeing to settle the lawsuit for $50,000 worth of monetary relief for Collins.
When good intentions go bad
This is a cautionary tale that even good intentions can pave the way for a costly lawsuit.
Even if Collins’ workload could’ve eventually led to another heart attack — a fear Baldwin would’ve been justified in having — the ADA prohibited the employer from taking action against him for any reason associated with his medical condition.
Bottom line: Without having some other nondiscriminatory reason to terminate Collins, his employer was obligated to abide by the doctor’s instructions to return Collins to his previous job (or an equivalent one) without restrictions.
