IT company to pay $255K to settle ADA discrimination suit

A New York-based information technology company has agreed to pay $255,000 to a disabled job applicant to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Wednesday.

The EEOC accused Tech Mahindra Inc. of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act after a project manager abruptly ended an interview with a deaf applicant in November 2022 after learning that he was using an interpreter.

Tech Mahindra emailed the applicant the following day, stating, “Thank you for your time today it is unfortunate that we can’t proceed with your profile. While you have the perfect skill set for this role it would be a challenge having an interrupter [sic] on-site.”

Although the applicant, who was pursuing an automation engineer position, informed Tech Mahindra that he could use a relay service rather than an interpreter, the company still refused to hire him, the EEOC said.

After the applicant filed a complaint with the EEOC, the agency sued Tech Mahindra in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in July 2023.

In addition to the monetary relief, Tech Mahindra’s agreement with the EEOC bars the company from discriminating on the basis of deafness in all phases of employment and requires it to take measures to prevent ADA violations.