A Lawton, Oklahoma Burger King franchise violated federal law when it refused to hire a man as a dining room attendant because he had suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed a job coach to assist with his training, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed Monday.
According to the EEOC, the job coach would have been provided at no cost to the restaurant, and the applicant, Manuelito Kinley, had worked successfully at other fast food restaurants where he was trained with a job coach.
The Burger King franchise is owned by Northwest Petroleum, LP, a Houston-based company that owns and operates gas stations and fast food franchises across Texas and Oklahoma.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (EEOC v. Northwest Petroleum, LP d/b/a Burger King, Case No. 5:18-cv-00703-F) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The agency seeks back pay as well as compensatory and punitive damages for Kinley in addition to injunctive relief designed to prevent and address future discrimination based on disability
and to otherwise bring the company into compliance with federal law.
“People with disabilities face many types of challenges, but everyone needs an equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for EEOC’s St. Louis District.
“Sometimes that success requires a little bit of flexibility, and the law requires employers to provide
workers with disabilities with accommodations that are reasonable and do not pose an undue hardship to
the employer. Job coaches – often available at no cost to the employer – provide just the support some workers with disabilities need to be able to succeed on the job, allowing them to contribute to society and support themselves and their families.”
James R. Neely, Jr., director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, said, “Manuelito Kinley suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was young, but he has the skills, ability, and desire to work. The
EEOC seeks to ensure he and others like him don’t face unnecessary and unlawful barriers to entering the
workforce.”
According to its website, Northwest Petroleum operates over 35 sites in the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio areas and in Oklahoma.