A beauty manufacturing company in Illinois is facing a disability discrimination lawsuit after allegedly firing a deaf worker on her first day of employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit against the company, Voyant Beauty, located in Countryside, Illinois.
According to the lawsuit, the worker was placed at Voyant Beauty through a staffing agency as a production worker. However, on her first day, the company discovered that she was deaf and promptly terminated her employment, citing her disability as the reason.
The EEOC claims that the worker was qualified for the job and capable of performing its essential functions, making her dismissal a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
In response to the lawsuit, Voyant denied the allegations but agreed to a consent decree. As part of the agreement, Voyant will pay the former worker $75,000, comprising $30,000 in back pay and $45,000 in compensatory damages. Additionally, the company will provide annual disability discrimination training for all supervisory staff.
The consent decree, signed by the parties and US District Judge Jeremy Daniel, does not constitute an admission of liability by Voyant. The EEOC emphasized that making employment decisions based on unfounded stereotypes about disabilities is illegal and that safety concerns should be assessed on an individualized basis, considering the person's actual ability to perform the job with accommodations.
For further comments or inquiries, Business Insider has reached out to Voyant Beauty for a response.
