Settles Federal Charges PNM’s Policies and Practices Discriminated Against Its Employees With Disabilities
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Public Service Company of New Mexico and PNMR Services Co. will pay $750,000 to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The lawsuit charged PNM implemented policies and practices which failed to accommodate qualified employees with disabilities and fired them because of their disabilities or in retaliation for opposing unlawful disability discrimination, including not allowing employees who were returning from medical leave to return to work unless they were released to “full duty” or “without medical restrictions”; placing employees who were unable to return to work without restrictions within 90 days on involuntary unpaid leave status and subsequently discharging them, without considering possible reasonable accommodations; and refusing to reassign or assist with reassigning qualified employees with disabilities to vacant positions as a reasonable accommodation.
PNM’s alleged policies and conduct violated Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The EEOC filed the lawsuit (EEOC v. Public Service Company of New Mexico and PNMR Services Co., Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-00848-KG-LF) in U.S. District Court of New Mexico after first attempting to resolve the case...
COVINGTON, Ky. (WKRC) - Two Erlanger-based manufacturing companies agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle allegations they improperly obtained pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans, federal...