Fort Worth-based American Airlines will pay $200,000 to a blind employee who alleged discrimination.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth-based American Airlines will pay $200,000 to settle a disability lawsuit after a former employee alleged the company refused to provide reasonable accommodations.
The lawsuit was brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that investigates and litigates employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting discrimination.
According to the lawsuit, American Airlines failed to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee at its Fort Worth office after she developed cortical blindness, the agency said in a press release.
The employee allegedly requested to use screen reader software to convert text on computers into synthesized speech, which would allow her to use the company’s computer systems to perform her job duties or be transferred to another position.
The lawsuit accused American Airlines of failing to take legally required steps to enable her to use screen reader software and instead kept her on unpaid, involuntary leave for nearly four years, then firing her after failing to facilitate her return to work.
“Blind and otherwise visually impaired workers deserve every opportunity to put their skills and knowledge to work, make highly valuable contributions to our nation’s economy, and have rewarding careers,” said acting EEOC Dallas Regional Attorney Ronald L. Phillips.
Along with payment to the former employee, American agreed to incorporate critical web accessibility standards into the development of new software. The new software is projected to launch in 2027.
“Upon implementation of its new reservation web application, American Airlines is required to conduct an accessibility audit of the software by a trained specialist and dedicate up to 120 hours of labor to remedy any barriers to accessibility for blind and visually impaired employee-users that may still exist,” the release states.