EEOC Suit Ends With $1M Payout: Don’t Make This Mistake

An EEOC suit filed against a government contractor has ended with an agreement that calls for the contractor to pay more than $1 million and take other steps to resolve charges that it discriminated against employees with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The target of the EEOC suit was Didlake, Inc., which provides janitorial and maintenance employees to federal worksites in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Didlake is a nonprofit organization that employs a large number of employees with disabilities.

Despite its experience with that group, Didlake allegedly engaged in multiple missteps with respect to its treatment of its employees.

EEOC Suit Makes Separate Allegations

First, the EEOC suit said Didlake did not provide adequate communication-related accommodations to employees with deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.

Second, the agency accused the employer of terminating employees who asked for medical leave but did not qualify for leave under the FMLA. The problem with that approach is that an employee may be eligible for leave under the ADA even if they are not eligible for leave under the FMLA.

To end the EEOC suit, the employer agreed to pay $1,017,500 and take other steps. The EEOC said monetary relief will go to two employees and the estate of a third individual. Additional monetary relief will be provided to employees who were denied communications-related accommodations and former employees who were let go because they needed medical leave but were not eligible for FMLA leave.

Didlake also agreed to update and supplement policies regarding leave and reasonable accommodation; provide ADA training to its managers; and tell its employees how to ask for reasonable accommodation.

EEOC Suit Highlights Important Distinction

This EEOC suit highlights a very important point regarding the provision of leave: The legal requirements relating to leave are not the same under the ADA as they are under the FMLA.

“Employers need to remember that the ADA and the FMLA have different requirements for when an employer must provide medical leave,” Mindy E. Weinstein, director of the EEOC’s Washington Field Office said when the EEOC suit was filed. “An employee may be entitled to leave under the ADA even if they are not eligible under the FMLA.” 

More specifically, an employee is entitled to FMLA leave for their own health issue if they have a “serious health condition” and have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months.

A serious health condition can be shown in a few different ways.

An overnight stay in a medical facility qualifies. So does any period of incapacity that lasts more than three straight calendar days, as long as it required at least two in-person visits within 30 days of the first day of incapacity. The first visit must take place within seven days of the first day of incapacity.

It’s also a serious health condition if a period of incapacity lasts more than three days and there is 1) at least one in-person visit within seven days, and 2) the visit results in a regimen of continuing treatment.

Remember: ADA Is Much Different

That’s a lot different than what qualifies an individual for entitlement to leave under the ADA.

To be entitled to ADA leave, an employee must have a disability, which is defined as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity.

Under the ADA, there is no minimum service time requirement. Nor is there any requirement for an overnight stay or even continuing treatment. It’s a very different eligibility test, and one to be aware of.

The ADA also has a built-in limitation on the duty to provide leave that is absent from the FMLA: namely, under the ADA, an employer need not provide a period of leave that causes it to endure an undue hardship.

Another important thing to keep in mind: Additional leave may need to be provided under the ADA even after FMLA leave has expired — if providing the additional leave does not produce an undue hardship for the employer.

It’s hard to overstate the point: With respect to the requirements relating to the provision of leave, the ADA and FMLA are very different animals – and HR pros must be clear on the differences.

Need a refresher on the FMLA’s overall requirements? Here’s a great in-depth look at the FMLA’s rules and requirements.

Ready for a deeper dive into reasonable accommodation under the ADA? Here’s a good resource on the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirements.