Property Manager Was Terminated After Heart Attack, Federal Agency Charged
ATLANTA -Oxford Glenn Of Wrightsboro, LLC, Stansberry and Company LLC, and Stansberry Management, LLC, d/b/a Fox Den Apartments will pay $37,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
The federal agency had charged that the owners of the Fox Den apartment complex, located in Augusta, Ga., subjected the property manager of the complex to disability discrimination when they advertised to find a replacement for her position the same day she suffered a heart attack on the job. The EEOC alleged that when the employee attempted to return to work, she learned that she had been terminated.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations-including leave-to individuals with disabilities absent undue hardship, and prohibits adverse employment actions based on disability. The EEOC filed the suit in EEOC v. Oxford Glenn of Wrightsboro, LLC, Stansberry and Company LLC, and Stansberry Management, LLC d/b/a Fox Den Apartments (Civil Action No., 2:11-cv-00263), on September 27, 2011 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division.
The consent decree settling the suit provides $37,000 for the former property manager and includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and postings.
"The ADA was enacted to stop employers from assuming an employee cannot do a job when they become disabled" said Robert Dawkins, regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta District Office. "The Commission is pleased that the defendants committed to resolving this matter and to put measures in place to ensure nothing like this occurs in the future."
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.