Here is today's Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information Network message. Please feel free to share.?
Martha
Martha K. Gabehart | Executive Director
Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC)
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
900 SW Jackson, Suite 100 | Topeka, Kansas 66612
(785) 296-6525 (direct) | (785) 260-4027 (cell)
[email protected] | www.kcdcinfo.ks.gov
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This case is about discrimination based on association to someone who has a disability.??
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U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (View as a webpage / Share)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec 19, 2023
CHESAPEAKE MONTESSORI SCHOOL PAYS $85,000 TO SETTLE EEOC DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT
Settles Federal Charges That Montessori School Discriminated Against
Teacher With Caregiver Responsibilities
BALTIMORE ? Chesapeake Montessori Foundation, Inc., operator of the Chesapeake Montessori School in Annapolis, Maryland, will pay over $85,000 to a former teacher to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC?s lawsuit, in 2021 Chesapeake Montessori decided not to renew a longtime teacher?s contract because it assumed that her daughter?s disability, coupled with the COVID pandemic, would undermine the teacher?s focus and commitment to her job. The school elected to instead renew the contract of other teachers with less experience and tenure.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discriminating against any employee because of their relationship or association with a person with a disability. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (EEOC v. Chesapeake Montessori Foundation, Inc., Case No. 23-cv-02544), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to the monetary relief paid to the teacher named in the suit, the consent decree resolving the litigation prohibits future disability discrimination, including based on an association with a disabled person, and requires Chesapeake Montessori to implement non-discrimination policies; training for human resources and management officials; notices to employees about their rights; and compliance monitoring and reporting.
?While most ADA claims involve persons who are disabled, this case is a reminder that the ADA also protects those subjected to an adverse action because of their relationship or association with a person with a disability,? said EEOC Baltimore Field Officer Director Rosemarie Rhodes.
?When Chesapeake Montessori refused to renew this teacher because of misplaced concerns her daughter?s disability would affect her work, it engaged in just the type of unfounded assumptions and stereotyping the ADA?s prohibition on associational discrimination is meant to address,? said Debra Lawrence, EEOC?s Regional Attorney in Philadelphia.
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination. For more information on caregiver discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/questions-and-answers-about-eeocs-enforcement-guidance-unlawful-disparate-treatment-workers.
The EEOC?s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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EEOC Baltimore Field Office
31 Hopkins Plaza, Suite 1432
Baltimore, MD 21201
TEL 1-800-669-4000 ? TTY (800) 669-6820
ASL Video Phone: (844) 234-5122
Contact
Debra M. Lawrence, Regional Attorney
(410) 801-6691
Thomas Rethage, Senior Trial Attorney
(267) 589-9756
Terrence Carr, Outreach & Education Coordinator
(216) 306-3996
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