Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC
USA
September 16 2011
Background
On July 6, 2011, Verizon agreed to pay $20 million as part of a consent decree to settle a class action filed by the EEOC in federal court in Maryland, which alleged the company maintained a "no fault" attendance policy which contains multiple steps of discipline, up to and including discharge, for all absences, including absences caused by an employee's disability, except for certified FMLA leave, jury or military duty, death in the immediate family or excused time without pay. Verizon's policies mandate that when an employee accumulates a certain number of "chargeable absences" an employee is placed on a disciplinary step, and additional absences incurred during the step period result in the employee being placed in the next step, which has more serious consequences, including termination. In its operation, the EEOC alleged that an employee who was on workers' compensation leave due to a disability arising from a work-related injury was automatically terminated after one year of leave without consideration of whether a reasonable accommodation under the ADA might have allowed the employee to return to work.
Full Story: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=71b8713b-21a3-4fa8-8c8a-ef888e6ec8d8
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