EEOC sues outsourcing firm over blind employee’s firing

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based outsourcing company Tuesday for allegedly discriminating against a blind woman by failing to accommodate her needs and firing her.

The EEOC said in its lawsuit, U.S. Equal Employment Commission v. The Results Companies, filed in federal court in Wichita Falls, Texas, that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when taking only minimal steps to allow the employee to use screen reader software to perform her job duties.

Screen readers assist visually impaired individuals by converting text and other information into synthesized speech.

The outsourcing company hired the woman in July 2019 to work as a customer service representative at a call center in Wichita Falls but refused her requests to contact her vocational counselor and the publisher of the screen reading software for technical assistance. The company fired her in February 2020 for needing a disability-required accommodation, the agency said.