CALLARO’S PRIME STEAK & SEAFOOD SUED BY EEOC FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

CALLARO’S PRIME STEAK & SEAFOOD SUED BY EEOC FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Restaurant Fired Server for Perceived Disability, Association with Disabled Son

MIAMI – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit in federal court announced today that a steak and seafood restaurant in Manalapan, Fla., violated federal law by discriminating against a female food server it regarded as being disabled and because of her relationship to a person with a disability.

According to the EEOC’s suit, Case No. 09-81101-CIV-ZLOCH/ROSENBAUM, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, when Callaro’s Prime Steak and Seafood discovered that the server had a son with a disability, it demanded that she take a prohibited medical test. The EEOC says that when the server refused to take the test, Callaro’s reduced her working hours, scheduled her to work on days when she was unavailable, and ultimately fired her. Callaro’s terminated the server because it regarded her as disabled and because of her association with her disabled son, the EEOC asserts.

“Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an individual who has a relationship or association with a person who has a disability, or because an individual is perceived to have a disability,” said EEOC Miami District Director Jacqueline H. McNair. “The EEOC will continue to vigorously enforce all aspects of the ADA’s employment provisions.”