Health Partners, Inc. To Pay $25,000 to Resolve EEOC Disability Discrimination Case

Company Refused to Let Employee With Non-Contagious Tuberculosis Work, Federal Agency Alleged

DETROIT - Health Partners, Inc., a Southfield, Mich. rehabilitation and nursing company, has agreed to pay $25,000 and conduct training to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

In its lawsuit, (EEOC v. Health Partners, Inc., Case No. 2:11-CV-12024), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the EEOC charged that Health Partners violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to allow an employee to start working after she tested positive for tuberculosis on a preliminary skin test. The EEOC contended that such conduct violates the ADA because Health Partners regarded her as disabled even though she was not contagious and did not pose a direct threat of health risk.

Rather than engage in protracted litigation, Health Partners agreed to a two-year consent decree which requires it to pay $25,000 to the employee and train those employees responsible for hiring on the ADA.

“The agency’s two-year consent decree provides complete relief to the employee, and also provides protections to future employees,” said Nedra Campbell, the trial attorney who handled the case. “We commend Health Partners for making this commitment to train its hiring personnel at such an early stage in this case.”

Founded in 1990, Health Partners, Inc. specializes in providing rehabilitation services and in-home nursing care.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.