DETROIT - A recent discrimination settlement involving a Pittsburgh company is worth more than $45,000.
The settlement was entered Sept. 27 in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division.
Damon Hendrix was granted $45,250 from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s settlement with global paint supply company PPG Industries Inc. Of the complete amount, $29,000 was for back pay and the remaining $16,250 was for compensatory and punitive damages, the consent decree states.
PPG Industries was ordered to pay the full amount within two weeks of Sept. 27.
Legal Newsline previously reported the EEOC’s decision to take legal action against PPG this past July. Hendrix alleged he experienced seizures that subsequently led to a six-month medical leave and that he also couldn’t operate heavy machinery.
PPG allegedly put him on a leave of absence. During the six months, PPG also acquired Revocoat. Hendrix reached out to the Human Resources department at PPG in hopes of receiving accommodation for his medical condition. Instead, he was fired, the EEOC alleged.
PPG is also not allowed to keep up its rule that it will only offer 12 weeks of medical leave “without considering whether a disabled employee can be provided with additional leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act,” the decree stated. PPG is also enjoined from terminating an employee because of his or her disability status.
PPG is enjoined from discriminating against employees due to their disabilities as well as “retaliating” when the employee attempts to take action through the American Disability Association, files charges, or is part of an investigation concerning the discrimination and retaliation.
PPG has 30 days to train its employees particularly on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The settlement also ordered new employees receive the training within 30 days of hire.
The EEOC has permission to evaluate the premises any weekday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
If PPG does not follow the regulations in the next two years, it may have to pay the EEOC $500 for each day that it is not in compliance. The court also has the right to “order appropriate relief including an extension of the decree for the time necessary to remedy non-compliance” as well as legal fees and fines.