Awhile ago, a 38-year-old man was severely injured in a car accident that left his right hand, arm and leg disabled for the rest of his life. According to him, when he worked for Merrill Lynch, they were incredibly accommodating, making sure that he had enough time to complete his work and even giving him extra time to get back to work after taking a break.
But he says that all changed when Bank of America bought out Merrill Lynch in 2010. Suddenly, he was being written up for coming back from lunch late due to the fact that he walked with a limp. He was no longer allowed extra time between customer service calls in order to type information in to the computer system. But when he asked his supervisors and managers for special accommodation s, he claims that what he got in return was a smug “that wouldn’t be fair to people with two hands” as a response.
He was shocked by the continued responses he was getting from his superiors regarding his accommodation requests. On one occasion, he pointed out to his supervisor that it was against the Americans with Disabilities Act to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities and that companies over 15 people must provide “reasonable accommodation.” According to his complaint, his supervisor instead told him that Bank of America did not have any ADA rules.
For months, he claims, his work suffered because he could not meet quotas designed for people with more functionality than he had. His hours were adjusted to “less-favorable shifts” and he was constantly receiving warnings regarding his performance.
After getting fired the man filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discrimination. He is currently suing Bank of America for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability discrimination, and failure to accommodate for his disability.
Source: ABC News, “Disabled Employee Says Bank of America Fired Him for Slow Typing and Walking,” Susanna Kim, Sept. 19, 2012
