ADA: Sears forks over record $6 million

Whoa, Nellie. The EEOC has taken its campaign against supposedly inflexible return-to-work policies to a whole new level.

The employment watchdog says Sears, Roebuck & Co. will pay a record $6.2 million to halt an ADA lawsuit. It’s the biggest settlement ever in an EEOC lawsuit under the disability discrimination law.

According to the EEOC, over the years hundreds of Sears employees, disabled by injury, were fired as soon as their workers’ comp leaves expired.

The EEOC claims the retailer failed to look for reasonable accommodations to allow these people to work – such as “brief extensions” of their leave.

We’ll keep you posted on this new, disturbing trend in EEOC enforcement, which follows the filing of two similar suits against Chicago-area companies.

photo credit: justj0000lie