Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Tweet[IWS] EEOC: DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION VERDICT against DUPONT Obtained [25 October 2004]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
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EEOC OBTAINS $1.29 MILLION JURY VERDICT AGAINST DUPONT FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION [25 October 2004]
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/10-25-04.html
NEW ORLEANS - In a major legal victory for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has awarded a former veteran employee of E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. (DuPont) $1.29 million in an employment discrimination case filed by the EEOC under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delware, is an international science and chemical company operating in 70 countries with 55,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue of more than $20 billion.
Following a two and one-half day trial in EEOC v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. (Civil Action No. 03-1605), the jury awarded plaintiff Laura Barrios $1 million in punitive damages, $200,000 in front pay and $91,000 in back pay. Testifying that she was made to feel like half a person and humiliated and embarrassed, Ms. Barrios, an 18-year employee of Dupont prior to her termination and forced placement on disability retirement, said: "All I wanted was to do my job."
EEOC's lawsuit, filed in June 2003, asserted that DuPont violated the ADA when it illegally required Ms. Barrios, who has severe physical impairments, to take a functional capacity exam (FCE) which was neither job-related nor consistent with business necessity. Moreover, the five to six hour test caused Ms. Barrios severe physical and emotional harm.
The FCE tested her performance of rigorous physical tasks such as climbing, standing for hours on end, lifting more than 20 pounds, straight leg lifts, and overhead work. Although Ms. Barrios passed the test - which indicated that she could adequately perform the essential functions of her position - DuPont used the test results as a pretext to (falsely) declare her as a direct threat to herself and others because DuPont ostensibly believed Ms. Barrios could not safely evacuate the plant in case of an emergency. DuPont then forced Ms. Barrios onto short term disability leave and then total permanent disability retirement which terminated her employment.
AND MORE....
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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
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_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
EEOC OBTAINS $1.29 MILLION JURY VERDICT AGAINST DUPONT FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION [25 October 2004]
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/10-25-04.html
NEW ORLEANS - In a major legal victory for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has awarded a former veteran employee of E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co. (DuPont) $1.29 million in an employment discrimination case filed by the EEOC under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delware, is an international science and chemical company operating in 70 countries with 55,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue of more than $20 billion.
Following a two and one-half day trial in EEOC v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. (Civil Action No. 03-1605), the jury awarded plaintiff Laura Barrios $1 million in punitive damages, $200,000 in front pay and $91,000 in back pay. Testifying that she was made to feel like half a person and humiliated and embarrassed, Ms. Barrios, an 18-year employee of Dupont prior to her termination and forced placement on disability retirement, said: "All I wanted was to do my job."
EEOC's lawsuit, filed in June 2003, asserted that DuPont violated the ADA when it illegally required Ms. Barrios, who has severe physical impairments, to take a functional capacity exam (FCE) which was neither job-related nor consistent with business necessity. Moreover, the five to six hour test caused Ms. Barrios severe physical and emotional harm.
The FCE tested her performance of rigorous physical tasks such as climbing, standing for hours on end, lifting more than 20 pounds, straight leg lifts, and overhead work. Although Ms. Barrios passed the test - which indicated that she could adequately perform the essential functions of her position - DuPont used the test results as a pretext to (falsely) declare her as a direct threat to herself and others because DuPont ostensibly believed Ms. Barrios could not safely evacuate the plant in case of an emergency. DuPont then forced Ms. Barrios onto short term disability leave and then total permanent disability retirement which terminated her employment.
AND MORE....
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
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# posted by SBasefsky : 8:53 AM
