Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

Americold Logistics to Pay $46,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Lawsuit

Americold Logistics, LLC, an Atlanta-based global provider of temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics to the food industry, will pay $46,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit by the EEOC.  

 

According to the EEOC's suit, an Americold employee had chronic lumbar back pain with radiculopathy in her legs.  The EEOC said Americold refused to allow her to return to work from medical leave because she had medical restrictions and refused to explore or provide any accommodation that would have permitted the employee to return to work.  The company also required her, unlike others, to call her supervisor daily while on medical leave, the agency said. 

 

Finally, the EEOC charged, Americold fired her for "failure to return from leave" even though she had tried to return to work.  The company reportedly told the woman that she "had to be 100%" to return to her duties. 

 

The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process with the individual with a disability, where necessary, to find accommodations that would permit the employee to perform the essential functions of the job in question. 

 

In the consent decree settling the suit Americold Logistics agreed to pay $46,000 to the discrimination victim and will train all management- and supervisory-level employees, as well as human resources personnel, in the company's seven-state Southwest Region on the requirements and prohibitions of the ADA.  The company will also develop and maintain policies which address how reasonable accommodations will be provided during the course of employment. 

 

Hutchinson Sealing Systems to Pay $210,000 in EEOC Age Discrimination Claim

Hutchinson Sealing Systems, Inc., an automotive sealing systems manufacturer based in Auburn Hills, Mich., will pay $210,000 to three of its former engineers to settle an age discrimination lawsuit by the EEOC.

 

According to the EEOC's suit, Hutchinson Sealing Systems violated the law by selecting three engineers for termination during staff cuts based on their ages. At the time of their firing, the engineers were ages 48, 51 and 62.

 

Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age over 40 in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, layoff, pay, promotions, job assignments and fringe benefits.

 

In addition to the monetary payment, the consent decree settling the suit requires Hutchinson Sealing Systems to receive substantive training which will cover the provisions of the ADEA and employment practices deemed unlawful under the federal law, including the use of age as a basis to select employees for layoff or termination.

 

Factoids

• Average number of fines or penalties per year reported by midsized firms: 6
• 57% of all firms offered health benefits in 2013, down from 66% in 2003
• Average base pay increases will remain around 3% for 2014.
• 1 in 5 parents age 50+have at least one “boomerang” adult child who has moved back in with them.

 

Quotes

“The emphasis should be on why we do a job.”
~W. Edwards Deming~