Updated: May 11, 2021
On May 4, 2020, the EEOC released a statement that Wayne Farms agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of a class of disabled workers whose allowable absences were capped.
Specifically, Wayne Farms was charged with violating the rights of its workers with disabilities by capping the number of allowable absences regardless of whether the absence was due to a disability. Disabled workers who needed disability-related absences in addition to the maximum number of absences allowed by the company’s attendance policy were terminated upon reaching a maximum number of absences. The EEOC alleged that the company failed to reasonably accommodate its disabled workers and thereby violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For more information, click here.