Everport Terminal Services (ETS), which operates a terminal at the Port of Oakland, agreed to provide $200,000 to a former employee following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The investigation found that ETS failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability employed as a “steady” longshoreman mechanic at the Port of Oakland. When the worker showed up to work to accept a light-duty position, his supervisor denied that there was available work suitable for the worker’s restrictions and sent him home.
This action violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers with disabilities who can perform the essential functions of their job, barring an undue hardship. The law also says employers must engage in an interactive process to determine what the individual with a disability needs and an appropriate reasonable accommodation.