Verizon Communications Inc. will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over unlawful policies for disabled workers.
According to the EEOC suit, Verizon employees were disciplined or fired when they needed more time off than by the company’s leave policies for reasons directly related to their disabilities, and refused to make exceptions for the disabled workers, according to a statement by the commission.
The Phoenix Business Journal reported that, “As part of the settlement, Verizon does not concede any violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, and “agreed to settle this complaint with the EEOC solely because it is in the best interest of our company, our employees and our customers to avoid the disruption, delay and expense of protracted litigation,” Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni said in a written statement.”
