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Benefits August 24, 2006
Tech Company Accused of Discriminating Against Blind Man
August 24, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed suit
against a Massachusetts technology service provider for
allegedly revoking a job offer to a man who was legally
blind.
Reported by Adrien Martin
According to an EEOC news release, the agency contends that QualxServ violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it took back its offer to hire William Landram as a technician to service computers at the customers’ locations. Landram was diagnosed with an eye condition in 1989 that has left him legally blind.
The EEOC filed its suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and claimed that the company withdrew its offer when it found out that Landrum didn’t have a valid driver’s license.
“Mr. Landram’s ability to provide the high-tech services at the heart of the job was never in dispute,” said John Rowe, EEOC director in Chicago, in the news release. He further said that the job would have worked out had the company “restrained its bias and explored with Mr. Landram how he could best reach the company’s customers.”
The EEOC seeks compensatory and punitive damages and an injunction prohibiting discrimination and retaliation in the future, the news release stated.