Federal Agency Charges Home Health Care Company With Firing Therapist with Seizure Disorder Because She Could Not Drive
DETROIT – Providers of home health care services Alternate Solutions Health Network, LLC (ASHN), and its affiliated entity Beaumont ASHN, LLC, violated federal law by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a disabled employee and subsequently terminating her employment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee was an occupational therapist who provided therapy services to patients in their homes. In February 2021, she suffered a grand mal seizure and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and seizure disorder. She was cleared to perform all aspects of her job, but was not permitted to drive a car. When she requested to be permitted to use a ridesharing service to take her to patients’ homes, ASHN denied her request and then terminated her.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 2:23-cv-13043 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.
“This employee was able to work as an occupational therapist,” said Miles Uhlar, trial attorney for the EEOC’s Detroit Field Office. “By refusing to allow her to use alternate transportation to get to work, and instead terminating her, her employer violated the ADA.”
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.
The EEOC’s Detroit Field Office is part of the Indianapolis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and parts of Ohio.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
