Verizon Maryland to Pay $115,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a management employee who suffered from hypertension asked his manager for a change to a field position or to an alternate management position to accommodate his disability. There was an opening for a field position which the employee previously held, but Verizon did not allow him to compete for that position, telling him he would have to resign and reapply for the position in six months. The company offered no other accommodation, was not offered opportunities to compete for other vacant management positions, and the employee was forced to quit due to medical necessity, the suit said. Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability.