FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2024
EEOC Sues DR Horton for Disability Discrimination
Federal Lawsuit Says Leading Homebuilder Required Employee With Nerve Damage to Endure Long Commute
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- DR Horton, a Texas-based homebuilder operating across the United States, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate an employee with diabetic neuropathy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the lawsuit, DR Horton assigned a sales associate to a new housing development 66 miles from her home. The sales associate’s diabetic neuropathy made prolonged sitting and gripping an object such as a steering wheel painful, and she requested to be moved to a property closer to her home. Over the course of several months, three closer properties became available, but DR Horton did not reassign her. The sales associate resigned to avoid further daily physical pain.
Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. DR Horton Inc., Case No. 24-cv-02757-GLR) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“An employer’s duty to accommodate an individual with a disability extends to her commute, absent undue hardship,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District. “Here, a simple change of territory, repeatedly requested, would have kept the employee working and out of physical pain.”
Rosemarie Rhodes, the EEOC’s Baltimore field office director, said, “The ADA specifies that reasonable accommodation is not limited to the four corners of the office, but extends to all terms and conditions of employment.”
The EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office is one of four offices in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.
For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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