Woodbridge Company Pays $45K in ADA Suit

A Woodbridge-based telecommunications firm settled a $45,000 disability lawsuit because they withdrew a job offer from a mangement hire when they learned he suffered from impaired vision. 

RCC Consultants, with headquarters in Woodbridge, NJ, had initially offered Stanton Woodcock a managing consultant position at their Virginia branch in 2007, according to a report in Business Insurance. 

They discovered that Woodcock suffered from ocular albinism, an inherited condition that left him with little to no melanin content in his eyes, and significant vision impairment to the point where he couldn't operate an automobile.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), when RCC found out later that month Woodcock couldn't drive, they rescinded the job offer.
That was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“Employers need to remember that a person who can perform the job he or she seeks cannot be denied hire simply because of a disability," said EEOC regional attorney Lynette A. Barnes in a statement.

In addition to the $45,000 settlement they reached with Woodcock, RCC Consultants also agreed to several other provisions in the EEOC consent decree, said thejobmouse.com:

• Redistribute the company’s anti-discrimination policy to its current employees;
• Post its anti-discrimination policy at its facilities; 
• Provide annual ADA-specific training to its officers, managers, supervisors and any employee authorized to hire new employees; 
• Post a notice about the settlement;
• Agree to be monitored by the EEOC 

The settlement was announced July 10.

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