EEOC Sues Results Companies for Disability Discrimination | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Federal Lawsuit Says Business Services Outsourcing Firm Refused to Provide Accommodations to Blind Employee, Then Fired Her

DALLAS—The Results Companies, LLC, a business services outsourcing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, violated federal law by refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a blind call center employee and then firing her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, The Results Companies hired a blind employee as a telephone customer service representative to work out of its call center in Wichita Falls, Texas. After accepting the position, the employee requested the use of screen reader software as a reasonable accommodation that would allow her to perform her job duties using the company’s computer systems. Screen readers convert text and other information from computers into synthesized speech.

The lawsuit accused the company of taking only minimal steps to facilitate the employee’s use of the screen reader software, of refusing to contact the employee’s career counselor and the screen reader software publisher for technical assistance, and then of firing the employee because he needed disability accommodations.

This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on an individual’s disability or need for reasonable accommodation and requires them to make accommodations unless there is an undue hardship. The EEOC filed the lawsuit, Civil Procedure No. 7:24-cv-00128, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls Division, after initially attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the conciliation process.

In this case, the EEOC is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and an order prohibiting The Results Companies from engaging in discriminatory treatment in the future.

“Employers have a legal obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, barring an undue hardship. This obligation may extend to the employer addressing compliance and other technical issues to permit the use of accessibility software such as screen readers, screen magnifiers and voice-to-text programs,” said Alexa Lang, a litigation attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas District Office.

“Screen reader software such as JAWS (Job Access by Speech) has long been available and successfully integrated into America’s workplaces,” said Robert Canino, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Dallas District Office. “When an applicant or employee requests such an accommodation, the employer is expected to engage in an interactive process to determine how the available tools can be applied to the performance of essential job functions.”

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Dallas District Office is responsible for processing discrimination charges, issuing administrative sanctions, and prosecuting agency lawsuits in parts of Texas and New Mexico.

The EEOC prevents and redresses unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. For more information, see: www.eeoc.gov.