Employers violate the Americans With Disabilities Act when they deny an applicant a job because his or her relative has a disability, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said today in announcing a ADA lawsuit against a New Mexico medical facility.
The suit against New Mexico Orthopaedics Associates, P.C., which owns and operates a medical facility in Albuquerque, alleges that discriminated against an employee because of her relationship to a person with disabilities–her toddler daughter.
According to the EEOC, the facility terminated Melissa Yalch’s temporary job assignment at their facility and failed to hire her for a full-time permanent position as a medical assistant because her daughter has several disabilities.
“Workers who have to help relatives with disabilities, especially a small child, have enough challenges on their hands without being treated badly at work or even fired simply because of that association,” said Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill of the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “Employers must comply with federal law or be subjected to the EEOC’s vigorous enforcement of it.”
Read more about the lawsuit.
EEOC’s page on disability discrimination–explaining the do’s and dont’s under the ADA–is here.
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