9. Blind Worker in Redding to Receive $570,000 Settlement in Dignity Health Discrimination Suit

In an announcement earlier this month, the U.S. EEOC announced that Dignity Health agreed to pay a $570,000 settlement to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by Alina Sorling, a previous employee of their Mercy Medical Center in Redding.

Sorling worked as a food service technician for 10 years on the Mercy Redding campus. At that point, she suffered a severe illness that resulted in vision loss. When she lost her sight, Sorling completed the necessary training to enable her to complete everyday tasks she would need to complete on the job including cleaning, stocking, cashiering and grilling. By her account, she mastered the skills necessary to continue to live independently.

Once she completed the training necessary, she requested to return to work. She made this request in February 2015. She provided her employer with a list of accommodations that would allow her to accomplish her duties. The facility rejected her suggestions. Sorling was fired from her position with Mercy Medical in June 2015. According to the lawsuit, the company cited a vision requirement for the reason behind the termination even though the company did not test Sorling’s vision once in the ten years she had previously spent on the job.

After the unexpected loss of her sight, Sorling worked hard to complete all the necessary training and rehabilitate herself so she could learn all the necessary skills to continue to work independently without restrictions. She sought to return to the same employer she had been loyal to for over a decade. Rather than let Sorling demonstrate her abilities, the healthcare facility excluded her based on assumptions regarding her disability and how it would limit her abilities.

As a part of the settlement agreement, the healthcare company agreed to actively move forward with steps to prevent any similar forms of discrimination in the future, but Dignity did not admit any wrongdoing as a part of the agreement. They officially claim that they value their loyal employees and support any with disabilities.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about disability discrimination in the workplace or if you need assistance filing a disability discrimination lawsuit in California. The experienced employment law attorneys at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP can assist you in one of their law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago.