Sears Agrees to Multimillion-Dollar Settlement Over Firing of Disabled Workers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced a record $6.2 million Americans with Disabilities Act settlement of a nationwide class action against Sears, Roebuck & Co. over the firing of disabled workers. The agency described it as the largest ADA settlement in a single EEOC lawsuit. The EEOC sued Hoffman Estates, Ill. based Sears in 2004 following a complaint from an injured applicance service technician. This former Sears empolyee told the EEOC that Sears fired him after he took a leave for knee, wrist and back injuries suffered on the job. The employee repeatedly tried to return to work despite his continuing disabilities. In pretrial discovery the EEOC found hundreds of other employees had encountered the same treatment at Sears. This settlement should be a wake-up call for employers who lack policies that incorporate the requirement of both workers' compensation laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sears said in a statement that it settled the case to avoid expensive, multi-year litigation over the matter, but maintained that its policies are geared to meet the requirements of the ADA.