EEOC Sues McLane Northeast for Disability Discrimination

McLane Northeast (“McLane”), a distribution company with a facility located in Onondaga County, New York, has allegedly violated federal law by refusing to interview a qualified applicant because she was deaf, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) charged in a lawsuit filed on December 31, 2020.

After unsuccessfully trying to resolve this matter pre-litigation, the EEOC eventually filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.  According to the EEOC’s complaint, Shelly Valentino, who is deaf, applied for two positions in McLane’s warehouse, located in Lysander, New York, for which she was fully qualified.  McLane contacted her the same day they received her applications and left a message.  She immediately returned McLane’s call using a Telecommunications Relay Service (“TRS”), which uses an operator to facilitate phone calls for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities.  During the call, the operator explained how TRS worked to an employee in McLane’s Human Resource’s department.  In response, the employee assured Ms. Valentino that someone from McLane’s Human Resource’s department would contact her via email or phone call to discuss the position.  However, McLane never contacted Ms. Valentino, and rejected her application without a reasonable basis.  McLane then filled both positions with individual applicants, neither of which are hearing impaired.  Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) which prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals on based on their actual and/or perceived disability.  The EEOC seeks back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for the applicant, as well as injunctive relief to prevent McLane from perpetrating any future disability discrimination through its hiring process.

In addition to federal law, New York employers should also be aware of the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) and the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”).  Under both the NYSHRL and NYCHRL, it is unlawful for an employer, because of an individual’s disability, to refuse to hire or to terminate such individual’s employment.   Unlike the ADA, which defines “disability” as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or regarded by others as having such an impairment, the definitions under the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL are much broader.  Specifically, NYSHRL defines “disability” as a physical, mental, or medical impairment, which prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function, a record of such an impairment, or regarded by others as having such an impairment.  Additionally, the NYCHRL defines “disability” as any physical, medical, mental, or psychological impairment, or a history or record of such impairment, which includes an impairment of any system of the body.  Thus, employers engaging in similar and/or the same practices as McLane may find themselves in violation of federal as well as state and/or city law.

If you believe an employer has discriminated against you because of your disability, contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. to schedule a free consultation through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com, www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248-5550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 679-5000.