EEOC Sues Mia Aesthetics for Disability Discrimination – Federal Agency Charges Cosmetic Surgery Clinic Refused to Provide Reasonable Accommodation and Discharged Employee Because of Breast Cancer
ATLANTA, GA (STL.News) Mia Aesthetics Services ATL, LLC, and Mia Aesthetic Services, LLC, a cosmetic surgery provider with offices in eleven U.S. cities, illegally discriminated against a disabled employee when it refused to provide a reasonable accommodation and terminated her employment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed on July 31, 2024.
According to the lawsuit, a surgical sales coordinator diagnosed with breast cancer requested to telework for approximately three months while she underwent chemotherapy treatments, and she provided medical documentation supporting her request. In-person attendance was not an essential function of the sales coordinator position, but Mia Aesthetics refused to provide telework as an accommodation.
Instead, Mia Aesthetics offered only an ineffective “accommodation” of a part-time front desk position, which would have decreased the surgical sales coordinator’s earnings and subjected her to increased person-to-person contact. Mia Aesthetics then terminated the surgical sales coordinator’s employment when she did not accept the in-person front desk role—even though she could have performed the essential functions of the sales coordinator role from home. Shortly after firing the surgical sales coordinator, Mia Aesthetics replaced her with a fully remote surgical sales coordinator.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Mia Aesthetics Clinic ATL LLC and Mia Aesthetics Services LLC, Case No. 1:24-CV-03407 MLB JCF) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“The ADA prohibits firing an employee because of a disability,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “Mia Aesthetics violated the ADA when it callously discharged an employee undergoing chemotherapy treatments instead of granting her request for a defined period of telework as a reasonable accommodation, which would have allowed her to perform the essential functions of her position.”
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. Employers must conduct an individualized assessment to determine whether an employee can perform these essential functions with reasonable accommodation. The EEOC is committed to protecting the rights of employees with disabilities.”
SOURCE: EEOC
USPress.News covered this story as well.
