By: Kara M. Maciel and Casey Cosentino
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) continues its aggressive quest to challenge “inflexible” medical leave policies, as Denny’s Inc. agreed earlier this month to pay $1.3 million to settle a nationwide class action lawsuit. Denny’s also entered into an injunction barring its restaurants from future violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including denying disabled employees reasonable medical leave and retaliating against employees for bringing disability discrimination claims.
The EEOC filed the class action in 2009 in federal court in Maryland alleging, among other things, that Denny’s violated the ADA by enforcing a leave policy that automatically denied additional medical leave beyond a predetermined limit, even when the employee requested additional leave as a reasonable accommodation. This “inflexible” leave policy, common to many employers, led to the termination of the employees.