Say what?

Pay up, EEOC tells a cafe owner, for not taking on a hearing- and speech-impaired applicant for a cashier’s position [EEOC press release (Albuquerque’s Savory Fare Bakery and Cafe agrees to pay $20,000 and offer other relief), h/t Roger Clegg; related on cases where concern about cross-intelligibility between employee and customers leads to charges of “accent discrimination”] (& Bader, CEI; Scott Greenfield)

More: Alexander Cohen at Atlas has the complaint and answer, along with further analysis.

7 Comments

  • Any questions about why small businesses are hiring only when absolutely necessary?

  • Jack, the answer is that they’re racists who hate disabled people.

  • This isn’t a bad idea. Time to chop an arm off… where did I put that axe?

  • […] on June 27, 2012 · 0 commentsin Deregulate to Stimulate, Economy, Legal Tweet The EEOC has punished a cafe owner for not selecting a hearing- and speech-impaired applicant for a cashier’s position, even though […]

  • Well, a reasonable accommodation would OBVIOUSLY (rolls eyes) be to hire a sign language translator for this person – they could translate the customers speech into sign language, then the reply from the hearing and speech impaired clerk into a voice message. So what’s the problem?

    \snark

  • Note that this problem only arose because the plaintiff was hired in the first place – as a dishwasher – and then wanted to be trained as a cashier. Presumably, there were more than one applicant for the dishwashing job. If the employer had hired someone else, it is unlikely any legal action would have followed. But no, he had to be kind, and give a job to someone who would have great difficulty getting a job elsewhere.
    That’ll teach him!

  • Malcolm, no good deed goes unpunished! It is almost as if the government is trying to make sure that the handicapped are not hired.