Dairy worker fired after allergic reactions to gloves caused her to miss work, feds say
A woman who is allergic to rubbers and plastics was fired after the gloves she was required to wear caused reactions that forced her to miss work at a Michigan dairy plant, feds say.
Now the dairy processor has agreed to pay $79,000 in settling a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), according to an April 19 news release.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court, officials say Agropur, Inc. — “a dairy processor and U.S. subsidiary of Canadian-based Agropur Cooperative” — chose to fire an employee based in Grand Rapids instead of offering a “reasonable accommodation.”
“We will not disclose specific details related to an employee issue. However, we would like to indicate that diversity, equity and inclusion are embodied in our corporate values,” Agropur spokesperson Mylène Dupéré told McClatchy News. “Agropur has a great record of non-discrimination and compliance with federal and state employment laws. It is worth noting that Agropur voluntarily agreed to the consent decree as these measures were already complied with. We wanted to assure the EEOC that we would continue to live up to the spirit and intent of the laws of non-discrimination.”
The EEOC says Agropur violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2018, according to court records.
The fired employee wore the gloves, officials say, but when she was hired as a full-time machine operator four months into her temporary employment, she “started experiencing painful rashes on her hands as a result of wearing the mandatory gloves to operate her machine.”
She “suffers from a dermatological disease, including eczema, severe dyshidrotic eczema, and an allergy to rubber and plastics,” the September lawsuit says.
“During periods of flare-ups, (her) hands would bleed, crack, peel, swell, and blister. At all relevant times, (she) had a physical impairment that substantially limited the operation of a major bodily function, namely her skin, and during periods of flare-ups, she was substantially limited in the use of her hands,” the lawsuit says.
Her supervisor was aware of the severe rashes, authorities say, as he had sent her home from work due to “sanitary reasons.”
In May 2018, the worker filed a request for time off through the Family and Medical Leave Act, according to the lawsuit.
“This would have allowed her to take a medical leave of absence when she could not work due to her allergic flare-ups,” the lawsuit says. “This request was denied.”
The EEOC says she also asked to wear different gloves that may help prevent allergy flare-ups, but that request was also denied and no other accommodations were provided.
The worker was sometimes forced to leave work “due to her disability” and would be given attendance points each time she missed work, according to the lawsuit.
In September 2018, the EEOC says the employee was fired by Agropur “because she had exceeded the maximum number of allowable absences under its no-fault attendance policy.”
“Ultimately, the EEOC said, Agropur fired her after she had accumulated attendance points that accrued as a direct result of the company’s failure to provide her with a reasonable accommodation,” according to the news release.
Beginning in March 2021, the EEOC says it tried to work with Agropur in pre-trial conciliation, but an agreement was not reached.
Following the lawsuit, Agropur has agreed to the $79,000 relief settlement, according to court records. The cooperative will provide mandatory training on the ADA to its supervisors, managers and human resources personnel. Agropur must also notify its employees of the settlement and report future employee accommodation requests to the EEOC for one year.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Dairy worker fired after allergic reactions to gloves caused her to miss work, feds say."