Outsourcing Firm to Pay $250K For Discriminating Against Blind Employee in Texas

The Results Companies, A business services outsourcing firm agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

According to the EEOC’s suit, The Results Companies hired an employee who is blind as a telephonic customer service representative to work from its call center in Wichita Falls, Texas. After accepting the position, the employee requested to use screen reader software as a reasonable accommodation so that she could review written material on her computer screen. Screen readers convert text and other information on computers into synthesized speech.

The lawsuit charged that the company did not take reasonable steps to facilitate the employee’s use of screen reader software, refused the employee’s suggestion that the company contact her vocational counselor and the publisher of her screen reader software to request technical assistance, and then fired her because she required the reasonable accommodation.

This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on an individual’s disability or need for reasonable accommodation and requires them to make accommodations absent an undue hardship.

The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 7:24-cv-00128) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The two-year consent decree settling the suit, approved by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, requires The Results Companies to provide internal training about rights and responsibilities under the ADA and implement a plan for handling requests for accommodation from future employees who require access to screen reader technology.

Source: EEOC

Topics Texas