Eagle Marine Services Electrical and Refrigeration, LLC, a marine services company based in Berwick, has agreed to pay a former job applicant $45,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

NEW ORLEANS (KLFY) -- A company in Berwick will pay damages to a former job applicant for withdrawing a job offer due to the applicant's ADHD, federal officials said.

Eagle Marine Services Electrical and Refrigeration, LLC, a marine services company based in Berwick, has agreed to pay a former job applicant $45,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency announced today.

Under the court-approved consent decree settling the suit, Eagle Marine will pay the
candidate $45,000 in back pay and damages, and also conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC and post a notice affirming its obligations under the ADA.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company withdrew a job offer after a company-ordered medical examination revealed the candidate had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and took prescribed medication, Adderall, for treatment.

According to the EEOC, the company failed to make any individual assessment of the worker’s medication use or whether it would affect his ability to safely perform the job.

This violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which forbids discrimination against an individual because of disability. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.

“This resolution provides appropriate relief for the former applicant and sends the message that employers are obligated to assess and hire individuals with disabilities in accordance with the law,” said Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office.

Peter Theis, a senior trial attorney in the EEOC’s New Orleans Field Office, said employers who use pre-employment medical screenings need to do so in a way that does not discriminate.

“Employers cannot reject an applicant simply because the medical screener indicates that
there are restrictions,” Thies said.

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