Minot, ND Employer Fired Employee Because of Diabetes, Federal Agency Charged

MINNEAPOLIS - In a successful conciliation, Strad Oilfield Services, operating in Minot, N.D., will pay $65,000 in damages to resolve a disability discrimination charge filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. 

An investigation by the EEOC's Minneapolis Area Office revealed that Strad fired an employee shortly after it learned of his diabetes, ignoring the fact that the employee was still able to perform the job according to a fitness-for-duty test.  

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to engage in an interactive process with the employee to seek a reasonable accommodation for the disability.  

"Employers who ignore the law's requirement to make a good-faith effort to accommodate employees with disabilities are just causing more trouble for their own business," said Julie Schmid, acting director of the EEOC's Minneapolis Area Office.    

In addition to paying $65,000, the conciliation agreement requires Strad to amend its equal opportunity policy to specifically address the rights and requirements of the ADA, provide professional ADA training annually to all of its employees and report all denied requests for accommodation and future complaints of disability discrimination to the EEOC.

The EEOC's Minneapolis Area Office is part of the Chicago District, which has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the agency can be found on its website at www.eeoc.gov.