Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — A Nebraska hotelier has agreed to pay $100,000 to a former general manager to help settle a lawsuit contending disability discrimination based on mental health.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the legal action against Anant Operations and affiliates, which own nearly a dozen hotel properties in Omaha, Lincoln and McCook, Nebraska, as well as Topeka, Kansas.
A federal judge approved a settlement Wednesday.
The general manager involved in the case worked at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in downtown Omaha. A news release from the EEOC said the manager in the fall of 2019 advised his direct supervisor, Anant’s vice president of operations, that he was going to be away from work because he was going to the hospital for treatment for depression.
Two days later, on the day the manager was discharged from the hospital, the supervisor told the manager he was fired because the company was afraid he might hurt other people, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability, said the EEOC, which pursued the case in U.S. District Court after a failed first attempt to reach a settlement.
“Employers can not rely on myths or stereotypes about mental health conditions when deciding whether an individual with a mental health disability, such as depression, can perform their job or poses a safety risk.”
– Andrea Baran, regional attorney, EEOC St. Louis District Office
Kirt Trivedi, co-founder and president of Anant, said the ownership group feels “strongly that the accusations are false.”
He said, however, that the owners agreed the settlement was the “best path forward,” as it allows the group to focus on rebuilding its business after the pandemic. He said he wished the former general manager well.
Joshua Pierson, an EEOC attorney assigned to the case, told the Nebraska Examiner that many people, when they hear of disability discrimination, think of physical impairment, not mental.
“So it’s important to bring attention to the fact that mental health disabilities are disabilities that are covered under the ADA,” he said.
The EEOC alleged that Anant failed to properly assess the general manager’s ability to perform his essential job duties — “and instead fired him based on fears and stereotypes regarding his disability, depression.”
“Before an employer can fire an employee based on their disability, including a mental health disability, it must have objective evidence the employee would be unable to perform their job or would create a significant safety risk even with a reasonable accommodation,” said Andrea Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District, which includes Nebraska.
“Employers can not rely on myths or stereotypes about mental health conditions when deciding whether an individual with a mental health disability, such as depression, can perform their job or poses a safety risk.”
In addition to the monetary award, the consent decree, signed by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr., lays out numerous training and reporting requirements that extend to all Anant properties. The hotel owners and operators, for example, must consult with an expert in employment discrimination law to adopt procedures that ensure ADA compliance.
Trivedi said the settlement was a preferable alternative to a trial.
According to Trivedi, the general manager disclosed to supervisors that he had an “ongoing mental health matter” only after he was contacted for failure to show up for work “for several days” in a row.
Trivedi said the manager said he did not report to work because he feared he “was going to hurt someone.”
Trivedi said that the hotel group prides itself in working with its employees. He said it has about 300.
“Humans are humans — everyone goes through things,” said Trivedi. “We’ll be there for them, but you have to let us know.”
David Davis, acting director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, said workers with mental health conditions, including depression, may face discrimination in the workplace due to stigma or misunderstandings about mental health disorders.
“The ADA prohibits such discrimination and may require an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a mental health disability,” he said.