Harrison Poultry has agreed to pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to a press release from the EEOC, the agency filed the suit in 2014, alleging that Harrison Poultry violated federal law by failing to provide a manager with a reasonable accommodation for his disability and then firing him. The manager allegedly requested a seven-day extension to his previously approved vacation leave, which was requested so he could follow his doctor’s orders to not work during that time period.
Rather than granting an extension, the EEOC alleges, Harrison Poultry fired him.
“We are pleased with this settlement,” stated Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, director for EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “EEOC hopes that this case serves as a reminder to employers that disabled employees’ requests for leave for medical treatment must be accommodated unless granting leave would pose an undue hardship on the company.”
Headquartered in Bethlehem, Georgia, Harrison Poultry is the 22nd largest broiler company in the United States. According to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, Harrison Poultry processes 49.4 million birds in annually. It has one slaughter plant, one hatchery and one feed mill.
