EEOC files disability discrimination lawsuit that involves R-word

From The Chicago Sun-Times Sept. 9:

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the Swissotel hotel in Chicago Sept. 9, alleging managers at the downtown hotel harassed a janitor with learning disabilities, including calling him a “retard,” and illegally fired him.

The hotel “describes itself on its Web site as a place where ‘a sense of refinement and elegance pervades every detail,’” EEOC District Director John Rowe said in a statement. “But behind the scenes its managers apparently saw nothing wrong with calling a learning-disabled employee a ‘retard.’ That’s neither refined nor elegant. It’s offensive and cruel, and it reflects the illegal discriminatory bias which pervaded the hotel’s treatment of the employee.”

When the worker complained about the harassment, nothing was done to correct or remedy the situation, the EEOC said.

A spokeswoman for the hotel said the company does not comment on pending litigation. An attorney for the hotel could not be reached for comment.

The EEOC is seeking punitive damages of $300,000, which is the maximum allowed; compensatory damages and back pay. It also is seeking an injunction to prevent any future harassment, said Aaron R. DeCamp, one of the supervisory trial attorneys in the case.