Court Upholds Consent Decree in Disability Discrimination Case
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- Published on Friday, 03 February 2012 06:42
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court decision that rejected a consent decree resolving an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit against Pine City, Minn.-based Product Fabricators, Inc. The EEOC’s consent decree had been rejected by the lower court because it contained a provision requiring the court to continue its jurisdiction over the consent decree for the term of the decree – two years – in order to ensure that the parties complied with its terms. The EEOC had sued Product Fabricators in 2009 for allegedly violating federal disability discrimination laws when the company required employees to report their use of legal prescription drugs. Further, the EEOC charged that the company unlawfully terminated an employee for taking prescribed drugs for back pain. In reversing the lower court’s decision, the Eighth Circuit held that “[a] consent decree offers more security to the parties than a settlement agreement where the only penalty for failure to abide the agreement is another suit.” EEOC Regional Attorney John Hendrickson commented that, “Today’s ruling by the Eight Circuit reinforces a critical component of negotiated settlements in EEOC lawsuits which is the agency’s ability to guarantee compliance with important settlement terms through the immediate court enforcement…Continuing jurisdiction provisions in our consent decrees – as the Eighth Circuit reinforced today – serve as an important form of insurance for the public. Once the EEOC has reached a settlement with employer accused of discrimination, continuing jurisdiction provisions enable the EEOC to ensure that defendants will comply with civil rights laws for years to come.” Read More.