Stanley Black & Decker will settle a federal employment discrimination lawsuit for $140,000, after an employee claimed the company failed to give her time off for cancer treatment, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The tools manufacturer, which has several divisions headquartered in Towson, allegedly fired a sales representative in December 2016 for poor attendance after she requested unpaid leave for medical appointments and cancer treatment, the suit said
The EEOC alleged Stanley Black & Decker violated federal law because it did not accommodate the employee’s disability by providing her with the leave time she requested. The suit also claimed the attendance policy for the company’s inside sales department did not provide exceptions for people who need to take leave time for their disabilities.
In a statement, Stanley Black & Decker contested the EEOC’s allegations and said none of them had been proven.
“Stanley Black & Decker is settling the dispute despite its disagreement with the allegations in the EEOC’s lawsuit, to avoid the distractions and expense of litigation,” the statement said. “Stanley Black & Decker treats all employees fairly and does not discriminate based upon disability or any other protected characteristic.”
The company will pay $140,000 to the employee, and the settlement further prohibits the company from violating the Americans with Disabilities Act in the future, according to the EEOC.
As part of the settlement, the EEOC said, Stanley Black & Decker will update its inside sales attendance policy, provide annual training on the ADA and its accommodations requirements, and report to EEOC how the inside sales group handles requests for reasonable accommodations and internal complaints.
"In addition to the monetary relief, the settlement provides important equitable relief to protect workers from disability discrimination,” EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence said in a statement.
