Defense Contractor To Pay $75,000 Over Discrimination Lawsuit

L-3 Communications, a defense contractor with facilities in Texas, will pay $75,000 stemming from a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the lawsuit, an engineer was hired by L-3 Communications in 2008 and was a successful employee for six years, EEOC said in a news release. The employee suffered two depressive episodes at work in late 2014 and went on medical leave. He was released to return to work by his physician after receiving treatment but L-3 required him to submit to a fitness-for-duty exam before he could work again.

The psychologist who conducted the fitness-for-duty exam concluded that the employee could return to work, but L-3 instead ended his employment by giving him the option to resign or be fired, EEOC added.

The EEOC claimed in the suit that L-3 violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by forcing the engineer, a qualified individual with a disability, to resign in lieu of termination, EEOC said. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the conciliation process.

A settlement was reached June 10 by U.S. District Court Judge David Godbey. It calls for L3 to provide monetary relief to the former engineer, as well as to conduct training on the ADA for employees in the department where he was working at the time of his forced resignation, EEOC added.

“This case demonstrates the danger of allowing myths, fears, and stereotypes to pervade decisions about employees with disabilities,” EEOC senior trial attorney Meaghan Kuelbs said in the news release. “The EEOC believes that the non-monetary relief, including the training specific to this former employee’s department, will help prevent this from happening again at L-3.”