Settles Federal Suit Charging Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Facility With Firing Nurse Because of Her Sleep Disorder
HOUSTON – VibraLife of Katy, LLC, a rehabilitation and assisted living facility in Katy, Texas, will pay $80,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.
According to the lawsuit, VibraLife hired an employee with a sleep disorder for a night shift position. The job posting required the selected candidate to work 36 hours per week in three 12-hour shifts. Upon beginning her employment, the employee was notified that she would be required to work a fourth 12-hour shift every other week. The employee promptly requested an accommodation that her schedule be limited to the express terms of the job posting and offer to accommodate her disability. Shortly after receiving the employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation, the employee was demoted and then terminated.
Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination and retaliation against an employee with a disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. VibraLife of Katy, LLC, Civil Action No. 4:24-CV-02861) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process.
The court entered a consent decree on Oct. 29 to settle the suit. In addition to paying $80,000 in monetary relief, the three-year decree provides that VibraLife will revise its policies and practices to ensure it provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, provide annual training on the ADA to employees and post a notice to employees regarding the lawsuit should it resume its U.S. operations.
“Federal law expressly prohibits employers from refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities, unless they can show undue hardship,” explained Rudy Sustaita, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Houston. “An employer must always seriously consider whether it can make an accommodation before downgrading or firing employees.”
N. Joseph Unruh, a trial attorney for the case, said, “This settlement is an important reminder to employers of their obligation to comply with the ADA and ensure that employees who need a reasonable accommodation will receive the protections and opportunities available to them under federal law.”
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.
The EEOC’s Houston District Office has jurisdiction over southeast Texas and Louisiana.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
