NORFOLK — Norfolk Southern Corp. has illegally discriminated against workers and job applicants around the country, including Norfolk, for almost a decade, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Dating back to “at least” July 16, 2008, Norfolk Southern and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 in company-wide business operations by illegally discriminating against people based on actual disabilities, their records of disability, “or because they were regarded as disabled,” the EEOC’s complaint said.
The EEOC also alleged that Norfolk Southern “denied reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities; engaged in unlawful disability-related inquiries/examinations; and used qualification standards that screened out or tended to screen out individuals with disabilities.”
Through a spokesperson, Norfolk Southern denied the allegations.
“Although Norfolk Southern typically does not comment on pending litigation, the EEOC’s position grossly misrepresents our commitment to hiring and employing individuals with disabilities,” Jonathan Glass, public relations manager for Norfolk Southern, wrote in an email. “We take seriously our Equal Employment Opportunity responsibilities, and we plan to defend this meritless lawsuit vigorously. Norfolk Southern is confident that a comprehensive and unbiased assessment of the facts will demonstrate the fairness, integrity, and individualized care involved in our employment processes.”
Among the job applicants identified in the complaint were three who sought to work for Norfolk Southern in Norfolk.
Zenas Dowdell, a diabetic, applied for a paid summer internship in the human resources department in the spring of 2012, the complaint says. He disclosed that he had diabetes and hypertension and that he had a prescription for Tylenol No. 3; he also provided a note from his doctor saying he could work without restriction.
Norfolk Southern declined to hire Dowdell because of his diabetes and high blood pressure and because medical records revealed he had a strained back, the complaint says.
Separately, Philip Tyson applied for a forklift mechanic position at the Norfolk facility in 2014, according to the complaint. He’d been working as a forklift mechanic for 30 years but was medically disqualified by Norfolk Southern, and denied the job, because he had atrial fibrillation, according to the EEOC.
A third applicant, Michael Davis, applied for a track-laborer job in 2011 and disclosed that he’d occasionally taken medication for sleeplessness, the complaint says. Norfolk Southern required him to undergo further testing and a sleep test – which he paid for and passed. But based on a belief that Davis had “chronic insomnia,” Norfolk Southern medically disqualified him from working and declined to hire him, the EEOC alleges.
In addition, employees and job applicants at Norfolk Southern facilities were disqualified for a range of conditions, such as arthritis and cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular impairments, according to the complaint.
An Iraq War veteran was denied a job as a signal trainee at an Altoona, Penn. facility because Norfolk Southern “wrongly believed” he’d been previously diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the EEOC said.
Norfolk Southern did not hire a prospective conductor in Louisville, Ky. in 2011 because he was receiving chemotherapy for lymphoma, the complaint alleged.
The EEOC lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
The commission asks the court to permanently enjoin Norfolk Southern from refusing to hire or suspending employees with disabilities and enforcing qualifications that screen out or tend to screen out disabled people.
In addition, the EEOC is seeking remedies such as backpay, reinstatement and job-search expenses.
This is a developing story. Southside Daily will update it as more information becomes available.
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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Norfolk Southern Corp.
