American Airlines will pay $200,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
American Airlines failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to a Fort Worth employee after he developed cortical blindness, according to an EEOC lawsuit.
The employee requested the use of screen reader software that converts text and other information on the computer into synthesized speech as a reasonable accommodation that would allow her to use the company’s computer systems to perform her job duties, the lawsuit states. Alternatively, the employee asked to be transferred to another position, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges that American failed to take steps required by law to enable the employee to use screen reader software at work or help her find other reasonable accommodations, and instead placed her on involuntary leave without pay for nearly four years and then fired her after failing to assist her return to work.
Such conduct alleged in the EEOC complaint violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees’ known disabilities without undue hardship and prohibits employers from firing employees because of their disabilities, including firing employees for the employer’s failure to provide reasonable accommodations.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the administrative mediation process.
In addition to paying $200,000 in financial relief to the blind employees involved in the case, American has committed to incorporating Web Content Accessibility Guidelines into the development of new, accessible reservation software that the airline plans to launch in 2027, according to a two-year consent order resolving the lawsuit.
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