Lockheed Martin Failed to Reasonably Accommodate Employee with Disability

Blog# 10222020EEOC

LOCKHEED MARTIN TO PAY $115,000 TO SETTLE EEOC DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

Join me as I read the EEOC news bulletin dated 10/22/2020 re Lockheed Martin $115,000 EEOC disability discrimination lawsuit

CRYSTAL CITY, VA – Lockheed Martin Corporation and Lockheed Martin Enterprise Operations (collectively, “Lockheed Martin”) have agreed to pay $115,000 and provide other relief to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the federal agency announced today.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, Lockheed Martin subjected a former administrative assistant to disability discrimination when it refused to grant reasonable accommodations for her disability. EEOC charged in its lawsuit that Lockheed Martin failed to engage in an interactive process with the disabled employee to identify and provide reasonable accommodations, instead placing her on long-term disability leave and eventually discharging her. EEOC also charged that, because of her disability and in retaliation for her opposing to discrimination, Lockheed Martin refused to reassign or rehire her to vacant positions for which she was qualified.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants and employees with disabilities, such as by failing to provide them with reasonable accommodations for their disabilities or discharging them or failing to hire or reassign them to vacant positions on the basis of their disabilities. The ADA also prohibits retaliation against employees for exercising rights under the ADA, such as opposing disability discrimination or seeking reasonable accommodation. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Civil Action No. 8:18-cv-02976) after attempting to reach a pre-suit settlement through EEOC’s conciliation process.