On Monday, the EEOC announced that it filed suit against a company for failing to engage in the ADA’s good faith interactive process with a deaf applicant for employment.
Following review of the candidate’s application, the company advanced the applicant’s candidacy to the interview stage, at which time the candidate requested an accommodation based on his deafness and use of American Sign Language to communicate. Rather than engage in the interactive process, the company denied the accommodation and terminated the applicant’s candidacy, stating that verbal communication and hearing were job requirements in a remote setting.
The EEOC is seeking compensatory and punitive damage for the candidate, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future disability discrimination.
For more information about disability discrimination against individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, please see the January 2023 Guidance issued by the EEOC available here: Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission