Heidi Macomber

Blog# 4292020EEOC

Horizontal Well Drillers to Pay $650K to Settle EEOC Age and Disability Discrimination Suit

Horizontal Well Drillers LLC (HWD), a Purcell, Oklahoma based oil and gas drilling contractor, will pay $650,000 to a fired worker and hundreds of unsuccessful job applicants to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which restricts the use of medical exams in employment and prohibits employers from taking adverse employment actions against individuals because of disabilities. These alleged actions also violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which protects applicants and employees who are 40 and older from discrimination because of age. The EEOC filed its lawsuit (Equal Employ­ment Opportunity Commis­sion v. Horizontal Well Drillers LLC, No. 17-cv-0879-J) in August 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Notes on Age Discrimination

Employer Coverage – 20 or more employees

Time Limits

• Non Federal employees – 180 days to file a charge (may be extended by state laws)
• Federal employees have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor.

Disability Discrimination Notes

Employer Coverage – 15 or more employees

Time Limits

• Non-Federal Employees have 180 days to file a charge (may be extended by state laws)
• Federal employees have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor.

Resources

St Louis District EEOC Office News Bulletin 4/29/2020

Facts About Age Discrimination

Age Regulations

29 C.F.R Part 1625: Age Discrimination in Employment Act

Note that section 1625.7 has been superseded by Final Rule: Disparate Impact and Reasonable Factors Other Than Age Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (RFOA)
3/30/2012

29 C.F.R Part 1626: Procedures–Age Discrimination in Employment Act

29 C.F.R Part 1627: Records to be made or kept relating to age: notices to be posted: administrative exemptions

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Notice of Rights Under the ADA Amendments Act

See C. The Interactive Process (opens in a new tab)>Procedures For Providing Reasonable Accommodation For Individuals With Disabilities – Part IV > C. The Interactive Process

Facts About the Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA: Questions and Answers

The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer