The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Tenet Healthcare hospital in Alabama for allegedly violating federal disability laws by terminating an employee who had requested medical accommodation.
The lawsuit, filed May 18, contends that Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Alabaster failed to provide reasonable accommodation for an employee who experienced a back injury on the job and asked to be transferred to a clerical role. EEOC alleges that instead of granting the transfer, the hospital retaliated against the employee for requesting the accommodation by firing her.
The commission filed the lawsuit against Tenet and Shelby Baptist Medical Center after failing to reach a prelitigation settlement.
The suit is seeking monetary damages for the former employee and injunctive relief.
Editor's note: Becker's has reached out to Tenet for comment and will update the article as more information is available.