Pioneer Place Assisted Living Pays $80,000 To Settle ADA Lawsuit
Pioneer Place Assisted Living settled an Americans With Disability Act ("ADA") lawsuit for $80,000 recently. According to published accounts Pioneer refused to hire Pamila Bourasa for a cook position even though Bourasa had already completed a positive interview and had discussed a start date. The issue of her disability arose when she needed to pass a drug test before beginning work and she mentioned that she had epilepsy and was taking a prescription medication that would show up on the drug test.
The sad fact is that Bourasa quit her other job and then Pioneer rejected her because of drug test results.The ADA prohibits employers from using selection standards or criteria which screen out people with disabilities. This case was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") after first trying to resolve the matter through settlement. Once the case was filed, the company decided to settle. This happens often as the large legal bills start to come in and the company can see they did something wrong.
“This was a devastating experience for me but I am glad to put this behind me,” said Bourasa “My whole life I have been faced with people not understanding epilepsy and making incorrect assumptions based on fear and stereotypes."
