A fixed leave policy recently cost one company a hefty $1.35M in settlement fees.
Princeton HealthCare System, which operates several medical facilities, recently settled a disability discrimination lawsuit that all started due to a fixed leave policy that was in place.
The EEOC reported that Princeton’s leave tracking system only accounted for the requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act, commonly referred to as the FMLA, when handling any kind of worker on medical leave.
It was because of this that the EEOC sued for the termination of certain employees. The EEOC stated that these workers were not yet eligible for FMLA after having only a “few absences,” and stated that some employees were automatically terminated once they’d been out on FMLA leave for over 12 weeks. The EEOC claimed Princeton failed to seek out reasonable accommodations for employees who were absent for any kind of medical-related reasons.
The Commission proclaimed that these types of actions “robbed employees of rights they may have been entitled to” under a different act. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, may have actually protected some of the terminated employees from losing their jobs. The EEOC went on to explain how hardline fixed leave policies do not allow for reasonable accommodations under the ADA that may allow employees to return to work after any kind of medical leave.
In the settlement agreement, Princeton agreed to a myriad of things including:
No longer requiring workers returning from disability leave to present a fitness-for-duty certification explaining that they are able to return to work without any restrictions.
Not to subject any employee to progressive discipline for ADA-related absences.
The company also agreed to provide ADA-training for its workforce.
The $1.35M will be allotted to any worker who was unlawfully terminated under the former fixed-leave policy.
Human resource experts explain that while it may seem like the EEOC is trying to make an example out of Princeton, they are only trying to make employers aware of the responsibilities they have when it comes to their employees and their continued employment.