Virginia  Company Refused to Promote Woman Because of Her Previous Stroke, Federal  Agency Charged

Maximus, Inc., a Reston, Va.-based business management and logistic  consulting services firm, has agreed to pay $50,000 and furnish other  significant relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced  today. 

According  to the EEOC’s suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of  Virginia, Alexandria Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v.  Maximus, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-1022), Maximus failed to promote  Thelma Austin in November 2009 because of concerns about the residual effects  of a stroke that she suffered in July 2009.   Austin had been employed by Maximus in its McLean, Va., facility since  January 2007.  She sought a promotion to  a senior client services position.

Title  I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects employees and  applicants from discrimination based on perceived or actual disabilities.  The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Pursuant  to the 2 ½-year consent decree resolving the litigation, Maximus agreed to pay  $50,000 in monetary relief to Austin.  In  addition, the company must take other actions set forth in the decree,  including distributing its anti-discrimination policy; posting its anti-discrimination  policy in its McLean facility; providing annual ADA-specific training to its  managers, supervisors and employees in its McLean facility; and posting a  notice about the settlement.  Further,  Maximus is enjoined from engaging in any further discrimination against any  person on the basis of disability, and has agreed to be monitored by the EEOC  for the decree’s term.

“Employers  must remember that they cannot deny work opportunities to people who are ready  and able simply because of inaccurate perceptions about medical impairments and  disabilities,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Lynette A. Barnes of the agency’s  Charlotte District, which includes Virginia.  “This resolution should serve as a reminder that the EEOC will remain  vigilant in its enforcement of the ADA.”