A Texas nursing and rehabilitation facility will pay a $30,000 settlement related to charges that it denied drug test accommodations for a CNA applicant with a kidney disorder, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Friday.
In May 2013, the EEOC filed the lawsuit against The Fort Worth Center for Rehabilitation on behalf of Patsy Roberson, for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In June 2011, The Fort Worth Center allegedly denied Roberson’s request for a blood- or hair-based preemployment drug test after she indicated she could not do a urine-based drug screen because of her kidney disorder, a press release stated. Robertson’s kidneys were removed several years ago due to kidney failure, thus disabling her from producing concentrated urine for drug screening purposes.
The interviewer allegedly told her that the job was dependent on passing the drug screening, and her conditional job offer was revoked.
The Fort Worth Center is a 136-bed for-profit facility and is managed by Skilled Healthcare.The facility had not responded to inquiries from McKnight’s as of press time.
Note: An earlier version of this article listed the settlement amount as $50,000. The figure has been changed in accordance with a revised EEOC press release.
