The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled in favor of nine clients of Lebau & Neuworth, all of whom worked for a Maryland-based beer distributorship as a driver or warehouse worker.

The distributorship was sold to an out-of-state employer who refused to continue to employ the nine workers because of their workers’ compensation history. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it unlawful to screen out workers because of past workers’ compensation claims and/or from concerns of future workers’ compensation claims.

The EEOC ruled fully in favor of the workers, who combined had more than 130 years of employment with the distributorship. The EEOC District Director ruled:

“I find that Respondent subjected Charging Party and a class of individuals to unlawful disability inquiries since at the pre-offer stage an employer may not inquire about an applicant’s prior workers’ compensation history. That the information was obtained from a public website is irrelevant since an employer may not obtain from third parties any information that it could not lawfully obtain directly from the applicant. I further find that Respondent failed to hire Charging Party and class of individuals based on their disabilities, in violation of the ADA.”

Since the positive ruling from the EEOC, Lebau & Neuworth has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court in Maryland. The Complaint seeks reinstatement, lost wages and benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, and an award of attorney fees and costs.

Click here to see the Complaint

If you think your employer has violated your rights, contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 immediately. We will protect you.

Starting in 2014, employers with fifty or more employees must offer health insurance benefits that meet federal minimum standards. This is due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, which President Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010. Whether an employer meets this 50 employee threshold is not entirely simple: It will be judged according to whether or not, in 2013, the employer averages 50 employees or more, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also predicts that small employers on the cusp of the law may begin hiring independent contractors to avoid hitting this trigger number: 50 employees. In fact, the recession has led to an increase in employers' use of independent contractors.  Independent contractors were 3.5% of the workforce at small companies in December 2007, and now are 6.7% as of December 2012, reports the Journal. Just because an employer calls someone an independent contractor, does not make it so. An independent contractor often manages their own work in ways an employee does not. The issue is more complicated than that, of course.  Workers should educate themselves on the pros and cons of "independent contractor" versus "employee" status, and what it means. The IRS has published good materials on this subject. Being an employee or independent contractor affects not just rights under the Affordable Healthcare Act, but taxes, and other rights and obligations of all involved. L&N has represented hundreds of employees who have been denied proper wages, overtime and employee benefits because of being misclassified as independent contractors. Call us if you think you have.