Dive Brief:
- FedEx violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it required ramp transport drivers who have medical restrictions to take unpaid medical leave following a period of temporary reassignment until they were “100% healed,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday.
- Per the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, FedEx placed employees on leave even when they could perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation while their medical restrictions were in place. EEOC also alleged that FedEx failed to provide accommodations to affected employees.
- EEOC claimed that FedEx applied its 100% healed policy in a manner that tended to screen out people with disabilities. The agency requested injunctive as well as monetary relief, including back pay for the affected employees. FedEx said in an email to HR Dive that it is committed to complying with all ADA requirements and is reviewing the claims.
Dive Insight:
The commission has previously warned in guidance that employers violate the ADA when they require employees on extended leave to be 100% healed or able to work without restrictions.
Such policies are frequently the target of EEOC litigation; in 2022, Circle K agreed to pay $8 million to settle allegations by EEOC that it maintained a 100% healed policy, among other alleged violations. Similarly, a Louisiana medical center settled with EEOC after the agency alleged that the employer required employees to be “fully fit for duty” or 100% healed if they exceeded caps on fixed leave and light duty.
In its suit, EEOC claimed that FedEx placed one of the drivers in the suit on light duty after she sustained injuries that limited her ability to lift. The company then allegedly placed the employee on unpaid medical leave before firing her because she could not return to work without medical restrictions.
“100%-healed policies, like the one FedEx has, cost qualified workers their livelihood without giving them individual consideration,” Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney at EEOC, said in a press release. “Under the ADA, employers have an obligation to explore reasonable accommodations and not to screen out qualified individuals with disabilities who can do their jobs.”
EEOC’s suit comes more than four years after FedEx subsidiary FedEx Ground agreed to a $3.3 million settlement to resolve claims that it failed to accommodate workers with hearing impairments.