United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division
Counsel for Plaintiff JAMES L. LEE Acting General Counsel
GWENDOLYN YOUNG REAMS Associate General Counsel FAYE A.
WILLIAMS Regional Attorney, JASON P. BAILEY, Trial Attorney
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PAMELA B. DIXON
Senior Trial Attorney, EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION
Counsel for Defendant BAILEY KNAPP NIKI CUNG KUTAK ROCK, LLP
NIKI CUNG
CONSENT DECREE
J.
LEON HOLMES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Commission) and
Defendant Crain Automotive Holdings, LLC d/b/a Crain
Automotive (Crain) reached an agreement to resolve this case
following settlement negotiations. The Parties jointly submit
this Consent Decree (Decree) for the Court's approval and
entry to resolve the claims of disability discrimination
alleged in the Commission's Complaint.
The
Commission, an agency of the United States of America,
enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the
workplace. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008
(ADAAA), and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (ADA)
represent two of the federal laws enforced by the Commission.
The
Commission instituted this action on behalf of Judith
Vaughan. The Commission alleged in its Complaint that
Defendant failed to accommodate Vaughan and then terminated
her employment, all in violation of the ADA.
Crain
denies the allegations in the Commission's Complaint that
it engaged in any unlawful employment practices in violation
of the ADA. This Decree does not constitute a finding on the
merits of the case and does not constitute an admission by
Crain of the allegations in the Complaint. The Commission and
Crain have consented to entry of this Decree to avoid the
additional expense and other burdens that continued
litigation of this case would involve.
This
Decree constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement of
the Parties with respect to the matters referred to herein.
No. waiver, modification, or amendment of any provision of
this Decree shall be effective unless made in writing and
signed by all Parties. The Parties have made no
representations or inducements to compromise this action
other than those recited or referenced in this Decree. The
Commission and Crain stipulate the terms and conditions of
this Decree serve to effectuate the purposes of the ADA.
FINDINGS
This
Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action
and the Parties. After a careful examination of the Decree,
the pleadings, and the record, this Court finds the terms of
this Decree are adequate, fair, reasonable, equitable, and
just. The terms of the Decree also serve the public interest
in eradicating discrimination based on disability. The Decree
furthers the objectives of the ADA and adequately protects
the rights of the Commission, Crain, and the public interest.
If the
Court does not approve this Decree, the Parties agree not to
admit the Decree into evidence in any subsequent proceeding
in this lawsuit.
It is
hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED:
SCOPE
AND DURATION OF DECREE
This
Decree resolves all issues and claims arising out of the
Commission's Complaint which arose from Charge No.
493-2017-00657 filed by Judith Vaughan. This Decree does not
impact any pending charges, if any, that may currently exist
before the Commission in the United States. Further, this
Decree does not affect the Commission's right to process
any other pending or future charges that any employee may
file against Crain and to commence civil actions on any such
charges.
The
Parties agree the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, has
jurisdiction over the Commission and Crain and the subject
matter of this litigation for the duration of the Decree.
Neither the Commission nor Crain shall contest the
jurisdiction of this Court to enforce this Decree or the
rights of the Commission to monitor Crain's compliance
with the Decree and to bring an enforcement action in the
event Crain fails to comply with the terms of the Decree.
Upon the date the Court enters the Decree, the provisions of
this Decree become immediately effective and binding upon the
Parties to this lawsuit for 18 months after the entry date of
this Decree.
INJUNCTIVE
RELIEF
Crain,
its officers, agents, servants, managers, employees, and all
persons in active concert shall not discriminate against
employees with disabilities. Crain shall not terminate any
employee because of his or her disability. Further, Crain
shall enter into the interactive process with any employee
who requests an accommodation to determine if the
accommodation is reasonable and if Crain can accommodate the
employee without undue hardship to Crain. Crain shall not
retaliate against any employee for participating in any
proceeding under the ADA.
NOTICE
POSTING
Within
10 days of the entry of this Decree, Crain will post
Attachment A for 6 months at Crain's corporate location
and at all of its dealerships in Arkansas in a conspicuous
place that Crain customarily posts notices to employees.
Crain will ...