Global Offshore Company Refused to Hire Offshore Worker Because of Diabetes, Federal Agency Charged

NEW ORLEANS - Wood Group PSN, Inc., a global company which provides operations and maintenance to the oil, petrochemical and gas industries, denied employment to an offshore worker because of his disability, the EEOC alleged in a lawsuit filed today.

The suit, filed in United States District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Case No. 2:17-cv-09339, alleges that in June 2015, Calvin McKelroy, a type I insulin-dependent diabetic, was denied employment as a Production Operator because of his medical condition in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended. The suit further alleges that McKelroy had worked on the same platform as a Production Operator for Grand Isle Shipyard for many months without incident. During that employment, McKelroy never experienced any issues related to his disability.

In June 2015, Fieldwood Energy changed staffing contractors from Grand Isle Shipyard to Wood Group. As a result of this transition, the lawsuit alleges, McKelroy was required to complete a new job application and undergo a physical examination to maintain his employment. The job which McKelroy would have done for Wood Group was the same job, at the same location that he already had been performing successfully, according to the EEOC.

Following a medical examination, on June 3, 2015, a project manager for Wood Group notified McKelroy that Wood Group would not hire him because of the purported risk posed by his disability.

The EEOC alleges that Wood Group violated the ADA when it refused to hire McKelroy because of his diabetes. The EEOC is seeking injunctive relief prohibiting Wood Group from engaging in unlawful discrimination on the basis of disability in the future, as well as lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages for McKelroy, and other relief the court deems proper.

Keith Hill, New Orleans Field Office Director, said, "Employers should be reminded that they are required to engage in an individualized assessment of whether an employee can do the job with or without accommodation." Rudy Sustaita, Regional Attorney, stated "Discrimination on the basis of disability in the employment process will not be tolerated."

Wood Group PSN, Inc. is an international company with locations throughout the world.