Disability Discrimination Found With Regard to Termination.
Complainant filed a formal EEO complaint alleging, among other things, that the Agency discriminated against him on the basis of his disability when it terminated his employment. Complainant had been employed by the Agency as a Clerk in a temporary position while he attended college. Complainant had been born with a birth defect involving his right ear, and had surgery during the time of his employment with the Agency. Complainant indicated that an ongoing side effect of the surgery was migraine headaches. When he returned to work after his surgery, he was placed under a new Supervisor who assigned him a large workload that required him to travel between buildings. In addition, Complainant was moved from a quiet area to a high noise area. Complainant stated that his Supervisor held meetings with him in areas that were subject to high noise making it hard for him to hear. Complainant stated that on March 10, 2006, he developed an excruciating migraine, and, because he could not locate his Supervisor, spoke with a Program Analyst who told him to take his break and put his head down. Complainant stated that within minutes of putting his head down, his Supervisor walked by, said he had finally caught Complainant sleeping on the job and did not care about the migraine, and ordered Complainant to step into a private office where the Supervisor told Complainant to leave because he was not productive. Complainant stated that he was terminated when he returned to work following the incident. On appeal, the Commission found that the Agency discriminated against Complainant on the basis of his disability when it terminated him. The Commission noted that the Agency did not contest that Complainant was a qualified individual with a disability. In addition, the Commission concluded that the circumstances surrounding the termination, specifically the Supervisor’s comment and actions on Complainant’s last day of work, raised an inference of disability discrimination. The Commission then found that the Agency failed to offer any explanation for Complainant’s termination. The Supervisor offered no reasons for the termination when asked by the EEO Investigator. In addition, the termination letter did not provide any reasons for the action. The Commission noted that Complainant was rated “excellent” in every element of his most recent performance appraisal, and his Supervisor did not describe any incidents illustrating bad conduct. Thus, the Commission found that the Agency failed to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating Complainant. The Agency was ordered, among other things, to expunge all documentation relating to the termination from Complainant’s records, and pay him appropriate back pay with interest and applicable benefits. Sipriano v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., EEOC Appeal No. 0120103167 (January 20, 2011), request for reconsideration denied, EEOC Request No. 0520110313 (May 12, 2011).
Disability Discrimination Found With Regard to Termination.
Complainant filed a formal EEO complaint alleging, among other things, that the Agency discriminated against him on the basis of his disability when it terminated his employment. Complainant had been employed by the Agency as a Clerk in a temporary position while he attended college. Complainant had been born with a birth defect involving his right ear, and had surgery during the time of his employment with the Agency. Complainant indicated that an ongoing side effect of the surgery was migraine headaches. When he returned to work after his surgery, he was placed under a new Supervisor who assigned him a large workload that required him to travel between buildings. In addition, Complainant was moved from a quiet area to a high noise area. Complainant stated that his Supervisor held meetings with him in areas that were subject to high noise making it hard for him to hear. Complainant stated that on March 10, 2006, he developed an excruciating migraine, and, because he could not locate his Supervisor, spoke with a Program Analyst who told him to take his break and put his head down. Complainant stated that within minutes of putting his head down, his Supervisor walked by, said he had finally caught Complainant sleeping on the job and did not care about the migraine, and ordered Complainant to step into a private office where the Supervisor told Complainant to leave because he was not productive. Complainant stated that he was terminated when he returned to work following the incident. On appeal, the Commission found that the Agency discriminated against Complainant on the basis of his disability when it terminated him. The Commission noted that the Agency did not contest that Complainant was a qualified individual with a disability. In addition, the Commission concluded that the circumstances surrounding the termination, specifically the Supervisor’s comment and actions on Complainant’s last day of work, raised an inference of disability discrimination. The Commission then found that the Agency failed to offer any explanation for Complainant’s termination. The Supervisor offered no reasons for the termination when asked by the EEO Investigator. In addition, the termination letter did not provide any reasons for the action. The Commission noted that Complainant was rated “excellent” in every element of his most recent performance appraisal, and his Supervisor did not describe any incidents illustrating bad conduct. Thus, the Commission found that the Agency failed to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating Complainant. The Agency was ordered, among other things, to expunge all documentation relating to the termination from Complainant’s records, and pay him appropriate back pay with interest and applicable benefits. Sipriano v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., EEOC Appeal No. 0120103167 (January 20, 2011), request for reconsideration denied, EEOC Request No. 0520110313 (May 12, 2011).
