Detroit Casino Refused to Grant Extended Leave and Fired Employee with Stress-Anxiety Disorder, Federal Agency Charged

DETROIT - A Detroit casino operator will pay $140,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Greektown Casino LLC unlawfully failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with stress-anxiety disorder, leading to his discharge.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the employee, a pit manager, requested an additional four weeks of extended leave to return to work following a stress-anxiety-related collapse on the job. Greektown denied the request and subsequently fired the employee after his leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was exhausted.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which mandates that covered employers provide reasonable accommodations for the known disabilities of employees. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit (Case No. 2:16-cv-13540) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

As part of the consent decree settling the suit, Greektown will pay $140,000 to the employee, and will all train supervisory and human resources employees on the requirements of the ADA.

"We are pleased with the relief provided by the consent decree," said Dale Price, the EEOC attorney who handled the case. "It provides meaningful protections for the employees of Greektown. With this resolution, Greektown has taken a positive step towards protecting the rights of employees with disabilities."