ATLANTA – C.W., Inc., which does business as CPG Staffing, and Executive Personnel Group, LLC, sister staffing companies that assign employees to construction industry clients, illegally discriminated against a job applicant when they rescinded his job offer in Hazlehurst, Georgia, because they regarded him as having a disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, CPG Staffing and Executive Personnel rescinded a welding applicant’s job offer after learning that he had injured his knee two years prior. Before disclosing the prior injury, from which he had completely recovered, the applicant successfully passed a welding test. The welding test involved climbing ladders and crouching and crawling on beams. Shortly thereafter, the applicant disclosed in a post-offer medical questionnaire that he had previously been treated for a knee injury he suffered while working a prior job. He also indicated he could perform the essential duties of the welder job and did not require a reasonable accommodation. The applicant then provided a letter from his physician clearing him to work. Yet, Executive Personnel’s risk manager instructed CPG Staffing not to hire the applicant because of his prior injury. CPG Staffing, in turn, rescinded the applicant’s job offer.
Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. CPG Staffing and Executive Personnel Group), Case No. 2:24-cv-00138-LGW-BWC, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“The ADA prohibits discrimination against an applicant for employment because of a disability, whether it is actual or perceived,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “CPG Staffing and Executive Personnel Group violated the ADA by rescinding a job offer to a qualified applicant because they regarded him as having a disability. However, the applicant was fully capable of performing the essential functions of the job, as demonstrated further by his successful completion of a rigorous physical welding assessment.”
Darrell Graham, district director of the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said, “Employees have a right to be evaluated based on their ability to perform the essential functions of their job rather than their medical conditions or injuries. The EEOC is committed to enforcing the ADA to protect the rights of applicants with disabilities, actual or perceived.”
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.