EEOC Obtains Record-Smashing $240 Million Verdict In ADA Case

 

On May 1, 2013, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) secured a jury award of $240 million in an ADA case. The verdict is the largest ever obtained by the EEOC, a fact it is already touting on its website.

The verdict was handed down in EEOC v. Hill Country Farms, Inc., No. 3-11-CV-41 (S.D. Iowa) with a jury finding that an Iowa turkey-processing company discriminated against its intellectually disabled workers and subjected them to a hostile work environment on the basis of their disability.

While this case is a factual outlier, employers should take note of the EEOC’s expansive legal theories here as we expect them to resurface in pattern or practice cases.

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