EEOC Wins Impairment Discrimination Suit Against Payday Lender ‘The Money Store’

Federal Court Awards $56,500 to worker Terminated for manic depression

SEATTLE – Today the U.S. Equal Employment chance Commission (EEOC) announced a success in just one of its disability that is first discrimination taken up to trial concerning bipolar disorder. Adhering to a bench that is four-day, a federal region court joined judgment for $56,500 against Irving, Tex.-based Cottonwood Financial. The court unearthed that the ongoing business violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) together with Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) whenever it fired a worker from the Walla Walla, Wash online payday loans in Missouri., store.

After hearing the proof delivered at trial in EEOC v. Cottonwood Financial, Ltd. (No. CV-09-5073-EFS, E. D. Wash.), U.S. District Judge Edward F. Shea noted “Cottonwood’s lacking ADA policies and methods” and discovered that the business’s half-dozen different rationales for terminating shop manager Sean Reilly had been a pretext for discrimination and that the business had in fact fired Reilly as too disabled to work due to his bipolar disorder because it regarded him.

The court also commended Reilly’s efforts to deal with their impairment, attain academic success and get a task. Reilly ended up being an honor pupil in highschool whom went to university in Portland, Ore. for a educational scholarship. Whilst in university, he had been identified as having manic depression. Whenever his signs forced him to go out of college, he returned home to Walla Walla and discovered work at Cottonwood, which does company given that money Store.

Employed as an associate supervisor in June 2006, Reilly ended up being swiftly promoted to keep manager in October and received a award when it comes to success of his shop in November 2006. Nevertheless, in late January 2007, Reilly, via a wellness care representative, requested a brief leave to conform to brand new medication recommended by their physician to deal with their condition. Reilly alleged that the business denied this request, forcing him to come back to focus too quickly. The money Store fired Reilly in February 2007 – just times after their significance of unwell leave first arose.

The ADA and WLAD outlaw firing a member of staff as a result of impairment and prohibit employment that is adverse motivated, even yet in component, by sick will toward a member of staff’s genuine or identified disability or ask for an accommodation. The agency filed suit and was joined by Reilly, through his private counsel, Keller W. Allen of Spokane after first trying to reach a voluntary settlement with Cottonwood through the EEOC’s conciliation process.

Judge Shea discovered that the bucks Store broke the statutory legislation by firing Reilly and awarded him $6,500 in back wages and $50,000 for psychological discomfort and suffering. The court additionally issued a three-year injunction, needing the money Store to coach its supervisors and hr workers on anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation guidelines.

After the order that is final announced, Reilly said, “It felt just as if a long period of psychological harm had unexpectedly been healed. After my diagnosis, i truly challenged myself to beat the odds and excel in the office. To own my impairment outweigh my performance during my boss’s eyes had been crushing.”

Reilly proceeded, “This instance had been never ever about money or any kind of payback — it absolutely was constantly about doing the right thing to help protect the rights of men and women with disabilities. I really hope this verdict allows other folks with manic depression to possess the same possibility at getting and keeping effective and satisfying jobs and also to avoid discrimination that is future. It creates me personally happy and proud to learn that justice prevailed in this full instance.”

William Tamayo, the EEOC’s local lawyer in san francisco bay area, said, “The court delivered an essential message today that employers can not replace fiction for facts when coming up with work choices about disabled workers.

Companies functioning on outdated fables and fears about disabilities need to find out that the EEOC will likely not shy away from taking ADA instances to test to bring them in to the twenty-first century.”

Tamayo respected EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney John Stanley for overseeing the litigation, Senior Trial Attorneys Damien Lee and Jamal Whitehead for representing the EEOC at trial, and Investigator Annalie Greer for investigating the truth allegations.

Reilly’s personal counsel Keller Allen included, “The court saw through the numerous and excuses that are changing by Cottonwood for firing Sean Reilly. This is certainly a well-deserved triumph for the hard-working person that refused to permit their impairment to be utilized to set a limitation on their achievements.”