Company fired deaf employee after she requested an interpreter for meetings, feds say

A Colorado company discriminated against a deaf employee when it fired her after she requested an American Sign Language interpreter for meetings, according to federal officials.

The employee sued the company, Pneuline Supply, a parts manufacturer based in Greeley — about 55 miles north of Denver — after it fired her in May 2018, according to court documents.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Nov. 10 that Pneuline Supply would be required to pay the woman $44,250 and “provide other relief” to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit, according to a news release from the agency.

The company hired the employee as an assembler in 2017 and provided a certified ASL interpreter for her for her first few weeks, according to court documents. Later that year, the company also hired the employee’s daughter and began using her as an interpreter for the employee even though she is not a certified ASL interpreter.

The employee began to file grievances with the company’s human resources department and requested an official ASL interpreter be provided for her. In a grievance filed in March 2018, she said she was often excluded from work-related discussions, according to court documents.

The company repeatedly denied her request, and in May 2018 told her that “emailing and/or writing out on paper any question or comments you have is always an option available to you,” court documents say. The employee, who is fluent in ASL, is not fluent in English . Fluent English is not a requirement for her job, court documents say.

At the end of May 2018, the company discharged her “because of her hearing disability, or because of the need to reasonably accommodate her hearing disability,” court documents say.

Pneuline Supply declined a request for comment from McClatchy News.

The company will also be required to “review and update its disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation policies,” post an anti-discrimination notice and train its managers and human resources staff in Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“The ADA prohibits employers from firing or refusing to hire employees simply because they may need to provide them a reasonable accommodation in the future,” Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill, who works in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Phoenix District Office, said in a statement. “Employers also may not use a complaint about discrimination as an opportunity to fire them. That is unlawful retaliation.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Company fired deaf employee after she requested an interpreter for meetings, feds say."