{"id":38476,"date":"2016-08-11T09:46:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T13:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/?p=38476"},"modified":"2016-08-11T09:46:48","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T13:46:48","slug":"eeoc-orders-amtrak-pay-112k-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/eeoc-orders-amtrak-pay-112k-discrimination\/","title":{"rendered":"EEOC orders Amtrak to pay $112k for discrimination","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Agency Charged Railroad Company Refused to Hire\u00a0Qualified Machinist Due to Epilepsy<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"eeoc-logo\"SEATTLE — The Washington, D.C.-based National Passenger Railroad Corporation, better known as Amtrak, will pay $112,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to EEOC’s suit, Amtrak withdrew its job offer of machinist journeyman at its Seattle yard when it learned Shawn Moe had\u00a0a history of three\u00a0epileptic seizures over the course of his life. Amtrak cited safety concerns, despite Moe\u2019s record of safely working a similar job and despite his neurologist verifying to Amtrak that his epilepsy was successfully controlled on medication, that he had been seizure-free for years, and that he was able to safely perform the essential functions of the job without limitation while on medication.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that I have epilepsy has never prevented me from safely doing my job, not in the years I worked for another locomotive company before I applied to Amtrak, and not at the railroad machinist job I found after Amtrak took back its job offer,\u201d said Moe. \u201cAmtrak\u2019s decision to withdraw its offer hit my family at a particularly vulnerable time because my wife and I just had our first baby. I thought, what if other employers react as Amtrak did and I can no longer practice my trade? How would I support my family?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits an employer from\u00a0discriminating against an employee because of his disability, and also\u00a0requires an employer to assess a worker\u2019s actual ability to perform job functions where potential safety concerns are raised. EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington [Case No. 2:15-cv-01269] after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.<\/span><\/p>\n

The three-year consent decree\u00a0settling the lawsuit provides $112,000 to Moe in lost wages and compensatory damages. The decree also requires Amtrak to train its staff on hiring obligations and assessing reasonable\u00a0accommodations under the ADA. Amtrak will also\u00a0implement and disseminate a modified ADA policy, and will post a notice for employees about the\u00a0consent decree and employees\u2019 rights under the ADA.<\/span><\/p>\n

EEOC Senior Trial Attorney May Che said, \u201cAmtrak concluded that Mr. Moe presented a significant safety risk without assessing the actual likelihood of him having a seizure at all. In enacting the ADA, Congress stated that employers must rely on objective, factual evidence \u2014 not on subjective perceptions, irrational fears, and patronizing attitudes \u2014 about the nature or effect of a particular disability, or of disability generally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

EEOC Seattle Field Director Nancy Sienko added, \u201cOne out of every 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives. Given that epilepsy reportedly affects 2.2 million Americans and affects each person differently, it is critical that employers do not base job decisions on stereotypes, but instead carefully consider an employee’s abilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to publicly available information and its website, www.amtrak.com<\/span><\/a>, Amtrak is a publicly funded service, operated and managed as a for-profit corporation with headquartered in Washington, D.C. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served over 30.8 million passengers and had $3.2 billion in revenue, while employing more than 20,000 people nationwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal Agency Charged Railroad Company Refused to Hire\u00a0Qualified Machinist Due to Epilepsy SEATTLE — The Washington, D.C.-based National Passenger Railroad Corporation, better known as Amtrak, will pay $112,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. According to EEOC’s suit, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":6,"featured_media":21838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,31,45,12,9,18,25],"tags":[2892,2893,574,1531,1532],"member_types":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEEOC orders Amtrak to pay $112k for discrimination - SMART Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/eeoc-orders-amtrak-pay-112k-discrimination\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EEOC orders Amtrak to pay $112k for discrimination - SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal Agency Charged Railroad Company Refused to Hire\u00a0Qualified Machinist Due to Epilepsy SEATTLE — The Washington, D.C.-based National Passenger Railroad Corporation, better known as Amtrak, will pay $112,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. 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