EEOC Sues Work Services, Inc. For Disability Discrimination

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that it has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Work Services, Inc., an employer of six intellectually and developmentally disabled former employees. Work Services, Inc., which is located in Newberry, S.C., contracts its employees to work the production line at a Newberry-based turkey processing plant. According to EEOC, Work Services Inc. discriminated against the disabled men for years by denying wages or paying lesser wages for work performed and by denying them other benefits. EEOC's suit further alleges that the employer subjected the disabled workers to adverse terms and conditions of employment that included requiring the men to live in substandard living conditions, restricting their freedom of movement, and depriving them of opportunities for communication and socialization. The totality of the misconduct and disregard for the rights of these workers, which also included offensive name-calling relating to their disabilities, created an illegally hostile work environment, EEOC charged. Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects employees from discrimination based on their disabilities. EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Work Services, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-03257-HMH-JDA) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.