The Detroit Office of the EEOC brought this action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, against Pepsi Bottling Group a/k/a Pepsi Cola Company, an international soft drink bottling company. The complaint, filed in June 2005, alleged discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. After the charging party was diagnosed with diabetes, he no longer qualified under the then applicable U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations to transport goods in interstate commerce. Defendant refused to place charging party in an alternative position because he did not pass a Physical Ability Test (PAT). Defendant did not allow for individualized assessment of a person's ability to perform the job. Defendant discharged charging party in April 2002.

Under an 18 month consent decree which was filed 2 weeks after the complaint, the charging party received $75,000 from Defendant. Charging party declined Defendant's offer (made after the complaint was field) to reinstate him with seniority. Under the decree, defendant will make a good faith effort to help charging party obtain a DOT wavier and if he obtains the waiver, Defendant will consider hiring charging party for a driver position. Defendant will not give the PAT to any current employee who is seeking a transfer to a less physically demanding job. Defendant will also prepare materials advising applicants who may have disabilities of their right to seek a reasonable accommodation in taking the PAT. Defendant will not discriminate or retaliate against employees in violation of the ADA.

Shankar Viswanathan - 06/22/2007


compress summary