{"id":11810,"date":"2010-09-24T10:41:29","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T15:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=11810"},"modified":"2010-09-24T11:13:15","modified_gmt":"2010-09-24T16:13:15","slug":"jury-awards-184400-against-smith-personnel-solutions-in-eeoc-disability-harassment-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/24\/jury-awards-184400-against-smith-personnel-solutions-in-eeoc-disability-harassment-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury Awards $184,400 Against Smith Personnel Solutions in EEOC Disability Harassment Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
\n207 S. Houston Street, 3rd Floor
\nDallas, TX 752024726<\/p>\n

PHONE (214) 253-2760
\nTTY (214) 253-2710
\nFAX (214) 253-2749<\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nSeptember 22, 2010<\/p>\n

CONTACT: JOEL CLARK
\nTrial Attorney
\n(214) 253-2743<\/p>\n

SUZANNE ANDERSON
\nSupervisory Trial Attorney
\n(214) 253-2740
\nTTY: (214) 253-2710<\/p>\n

JURY AWARDS $184,400 AGAINST SMITH PERSONNEL
\nSOLUTIONS IN EEOC DISABILITY HARASSMENT CASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Staffing Company Refused to Hire Deaf Applicant, Federal Agency Charged<\/p>\n

DALLAS \u2013 A Dallas jury today rendered a verdict against staffing company
\nSmith Personnel Solutions, awarding $184,400 to a deaf applicant who was
\nturned away when she tried to apply for a job as a stock clerk, the U.S.
\nEqual Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which had brought the suit,
\nannounced today.<\/p>\n

The jury awarded Jacquelyn Moncada $34,400 for lost wages and emotional harm
\nand an additional $150,000 in punitive damages based on the EEOC’s charges
\nthat Smith refused to consider her for an open job of a stock clerk because
\nof her deafness. Smith did not take Moncada\u2019s application nor interview her
\nfor the job, instead telling her through her sign language interpreter that
\nthere was no open job for her.<\/p>\n

The jury verdict followed the presentation of evidence by the EEOC that
\nMoncada and a sign language interpreter went to Smith seeking work as a
\nstocker. The Smith employee told her that he had no job for her and that she
\ncould be \u201cdangerous\u201d because she \u201ccouldn\u2019t communicate.\u201d Moncada had worked
\nfor almost three years as a stock clerk in a previous job, and had never
\nexperienced problems communicating because of her disability.<\/p>\n

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The
\nEEOC filed suit (Case No. 3:08-cv-1552D in U.S. District Court for the
\nNorthern District of Texas) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation
\nsettlement through its conciliation process.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacquelyn wasn\u2019t asking for special treatment, just the chance to apply for
\na job,\u201d said EEOC trial attorney Joel Clark. \u201cSmith Personnel\u2019s assumption
\nthat she couldn\u2019t work just because she is deaf is the type of mistaken
\nassumption that can be prevented through training and education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heather Bise, deafness resource specialist for the Deaf Action Center, who
\noffered expert witness testimony for the EEOC at trial, said, \u201cI believe
\nthis case will have a holistic affect on the deaf community, and the walls
\nof audism — an attitudinal barrier towards people with hearing loss — will
\neventually fade. Deaf individuals are simply asking for a chance, and I
\ndon\u2019t think we are asking for much.\u201d The deafness resource specialist
\nproject is provided through the Deaf Action Center and funded by the Texas
\nOffice for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.<\/p>\n

According to the EEOC, Smith Personnel Solutions operates four branch
\noffices in Texas, and employs approximately 650 workers.<\/p>\n

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment
\ndiscrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web
\nsite at www.eeoc.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Download EEOC press release (PDF format)
\n http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/download\/469\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 207 S. Houston Street, 3rd Floor Dallas, TX 752024726 PHONE (214) 253-2760 TTY (214) 253-2710 FAX (214) 253-2749 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 22, 2010 CONTACT: JOEL CLARK Trial Attorney (214) 253-2743 SUZANNE ANDERSON Supervisory Trial…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[114,3472,4621,524,6425,19,24,451,767,6429,1205,1201,1208,6423,2734,40,6428,6426,191,6422,6427,17,6424,5666],"class_list":["post-11810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ada","tag-americans-with-disabilities-act","tag-article","tag-awards","tag-case-no-308-cv-1552d","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-action-center","tag-deafness-resource-specialist","tag-disability-harrassment","tag-discrimination","tag-eeoc","tag-equal-employment-opportunity-commission","tag-federal-laws","tag-heather-bise","tag-interpreter","tag-jacquelyn-moncada","tag-moncada","tag-sign-language","tag-smith-personnel-solutions","tag-stock-clerk","tag-texas","tag-texas-office-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-services","tag-trial"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-34u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18849,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/23\/court-of-appeals-upholds-verdict-for-eeoc-against-service-temps-smith-personnel-solutions\/","url_meta":{"origin":11810,"position":0},"title":"Court of Appeals Upholds Verdict for EEOC against Service Temps \/ Smith Personnel Solutions","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"PRESS RELEASE 5-10-12 Court of Appeals Upholds Verdict for EEOC against Service Temps \/ Smith Personnel Solutions Federal Agency Successfully Fights Barriers to Employment of Qualified Deaf Applicant DALLAS \u2014 In a ruling issued April 26, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28983,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/10\/14\/eeoc-sues-fedex-ground-package-system-inc-for-nationwide-disability-discrimination\/","url_meta":{"origin":11810,"position":1},"title":"EEOC Sues FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., for Nationwide Disability Discrimination","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"EEOC Sues FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., for Nationwide Disability Discrimination Shipping Giant Repeatedly Failed to Provide Needed Accommodations to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Package Handlers and Applicants, Federal Agency Charges BALTIMORE - Shipping giant FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., (FedEx Ground) violated federal law nationwide by discriminating against a large\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fedex-476x270","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/fedex-476x270.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18374,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/04\/18\/wendys-in-texas-sued-for-refusing-to-hire-hearing-impaired-applicant\/","url_meta":{"origin":11810,"position":2},"title":"Wendy\u2019s in Texas Sued for Refusing to Hire Hearing-Impaired Applicant","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Wendy\u2019s in Texas Sued for Refusing to Hire Hearing-Impaired Applicant April 18, 2012 A franchisee of popular fast-food chain, Wendy\u2019s, will be facing a lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against a job applicant with a disability. 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