New York Hotel’s Stand-Up Policy Didn’t Sit Well With Front Desk Clerk

Library Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in New York City, will pay $42,000 to a former front desk employee to resolve a discrimination lawsuit over its alleged failure to reasonably accommodate the clerk’s disability.

According to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a guest services agent for the hotel submitted medical support for, and requested use of a chair or stool as an accommodation for a disability that made standing for prolonged periods of time difficult.

Library Hotel denied the request based on its policy that guest services agents must stand at all times, and instead offered “insufficient and undesirable alternative” accommodations, according to the EEOC. The employee attempted to continue to work without the accommodation, but was forced to resign in light of a continuing deterioration of the employee’s physical health.

The suit was filed pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits an employer from failing to reasonably accommodate an employee’s qualifying disability, absent undue hardship.

In addition to the monetary relief paid to the employee, the consent decree enjoins Library Hotel from enforcing any “standing only” policy against employees with disabilities where the employee’s disability prevents them from standing the entirety of their work shift.

“This case should serve as a stern warning to employers,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Jeffrey Burstein. “A company’s internal policy does not trump a company’s obligations under the ADA.”

“The hotel industry in particular should take heed of this action. Inflexible employment policies applied universally without regard for the ADA’s reasonable accommodation mandate likely violate federal law,” Yaw Gyebi, Jr., director of the EEOC’s New York office, said.

Library Hotel is operated by 299 Madison Ave. LLC.

Topics New York