Inaccessible Benefits Platforms Prompt $150K Payout to Settle EEOC Lawsuit

What if a benefits platform is the barrier preventing an employee from accessing benefits?

As new tech tools become part of routine workplace processes, HR has to stay alert for compliance risks those technologies may introduce.

Case in point: Pearson Education agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve an EEOC dispute alleging disability discrimination tied to online platforms it used.

No Accommodations for Benefits Platforms?

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Pearson required employees to use online platforms to access info about their benefits and leave, and to complete required training.

The problem, the EEOC alleged, was that Pearson failed to make the online platforms accessible to employees with visual impairments. Specifically, the employer failed to provide visually impaired employees who use screen-reading software with reasonable accommodations to enable equal access to the platforms and training on par with non-visually impaired employees, the agency claimed.

In the EEOC’s view, this alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The agency filed a lawsuit in New Jersey after attempting to reach an agreement through its conciliation process. 

“When an employer uses online systems for benefits, leave or training, accessibility cannot be an afterthought,” said Kimberly A. Cruz, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District. “Technology that shuts out employees with disabilities deprives them of equal opportunity both to succeed in the workplace and to access the benefits they have earned.” 

$150K Payout – Plus Compliance Obligations

Ultimately, Pearson agreed to pay $150,000 to settle the case. Under a three-year consent decree, it must also take the following compliance measures:

• Hire a web accessibility consultant to audit its online benefits platforms and training modules
• Make modifications that ensure benefits platforms and training materials are accessible to employees with vision impairments
• Provide annual training for HR personnel on web accessibility and accommodations
• Submit periodic compliance reports to the EEOC, and
• Post a workplace notice about the settlement and employees’ rights under federal anti-discrimination law.

Next Steps

As HR adopts new technology for benefits, leave and training, compliance has to keep pace with it.

• Test employee-facing platforms – benefits enrollment, leave management, benefits information and training – with screen-reader software before rollout, and repeat the test whenever the platform changes.
• Revisit accessibility after implementation, not just during vendor selection. A platform that passes an initial review can still create problems once employees use it.
• Build a clear process for employees to report accessibility problems, and make sure HR and IT know who owns that process.
• Respond to employee reports of accessibility problems by engaging in the interactive process to identify a reasonable accommodation or accessible alternative.
• Provide periodic training to HR staff on web accessibility and the ADA’s accommodation requirements.