Dolgencorp, a subsidiary of Dollar General, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a shocking lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The suit alleged that Dollar General’s hiring process violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) in a number of ways.
The claims made in the lawsuit are troubling. The EEOC sued on behalf of 498 applicants, and claimed that, after making job offers to work at its distribution facility in Bessemer, Alabama, the corporation required applicants to pass pre-employment medical screenings. Dollar General then allegedly used the information to weed out applicants based on certain medical criteria, even rescinding job offers for applicants whose blood pressure tested above 160/100, or who had less than 20/50 vision in one eye.
The information was used to dismiss applicants even though the findings did not impact their ability to do the job they were applying for, the suit claimed.
Fast Company reached out to Dollar General for comment. We’ll update this post if we hear back.
According to the EEOC, the pre-employment examinations were “extensive, and often highly invasive.” In some instances, the process even included genital examination, the suit alleges. Candidates had to divulge their medical histories as well as those of their their families. Drug testing, a list of current medications being taken, vital signs, and more were also part of the exams.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. According to a press release, the company stopped requiring the invasive exams shortly after the filing. In addition to the settlement amount, the company agreed to review and revise its ADA and GINA policies, train staff on the procedures, and require that medical staff not inquire about applicant’s families medical history.
“The ADA protects job applicants from being denied employment because of a disability as long as they can perform the job with or without an accommodation,” said Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham district, in a statement. “Employers cannot deny employment solely based on stereotypes about the abilities of individuals with certain impairments.”
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