Car dealerships put on a happy face for their customers, but sometimes their treatment of one of their own can bring tears. They are not known for the strength of their HR departments.
A general manager at a dealership in Lubbock, Texas has an ally in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which today announced it has sued the dealership for denying him him a partnership becaus eof his multiple sclerosis.
Instead, the EEOC charged, the dealership, Benny Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Ltd., d/b/a Benny Boyd Lubbock subjected the general manager to a hostile work environment because of his disability, and forced him to quit and lose pay as a result of the harassment.
According to the lawsuit, the general manager’s compensation package included a promise to make partner, but once the company’s top management learned of his multiple sclerosis, it failed to honor its promise and told him his MS was the reason.
Comments such as “What’s wrong with you? Are you a cripple?” and telling him, “You are on your last quarter, buddy, since you have MS,” eventually resulting in the general manager being forced to resign, according to the complaint.
The EEOC said this conduct violated the ADA, and it is seeking relief on the general manager’s behalf.
Read more about the case.
Joe's HR and Benefits Blog 