Oilfield Services Company Sued by EEOC for Disability Discrimination

Federal officials have sued an oilfield services company for withdrawing a job offer to an applicant because of his diabetes.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit that Oilfield Instrumentation USA Inc. violated federal law by withdrawing the job offer.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit: “On Feb. 4, 2013, Carl J. Devalcourt, III, a Type I insulin-dependent diabetic, applied for a service technician position at Oilfield Instrumentation. Two days later, he interviewed with Tom Walker, a hiring manager. Devalcourt received a job offer and informed Walker that he would like to move forward with the hiring process, which included taking a required drug test and physical examination.

“After that, Devalcourt went to Acadian Health Services Clinic for the physical examination. Dr. Francisco Silva examined Devalcourt and determined that he was in ‘good physical shape’ and that his diabetes was ‘well-controlled.’ Dr. Silva expressed his concern to Devalcourt that he had Type I insulin-dependent diabetes and wanted to work offshore. However, Devalcourt assured Dr. Silva that he was on an insulin pump, that he had two years of previous experience working offshore as a diabetic, without incident, and that he took necessary precautions to ensure his safety.

“After the exam, Dr. Silva contacted Oilfield Instrumentation to inform the company that Devalcourt was a Type I insulin-dependent diabetic. Dr. Silva then informed Devalcourt that Oilfield Instrumentation was no longer interested in proceeding with the employment process. In a letter addressed to Oilfield Instrumentation, Dr. Silva stated that Type I diabetics are ‘fragile’ and determined that Devalcourt was not qualified for the position of service technician simply because he has that condition.”

Oilfield Instrumentation did not base its decision to withdraw the job offer on the type of fact-intensive assessment mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC asserted. In violation of the ADA, the company simply revoked the offer based on the assumption that Type I insulin-dependent diabetics could not work offshore, regardless of whether the employee could perform his job, the EEOC said.

EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (EEOC v Oilfield Instrumentation, U.S.A., Inc., Case No. 6:16-cv-01089), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Oilfield Instrumentation is an oilfield services company that provides real-time drilling instrumentation. It has offices in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, North Dakota, California and Pennsylvania.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits USA