Advance Auto Parts Settles Discrimination Suit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has settled another lawsuit in the auto industry.

Advance Auto Parts failed to hire Jeffrey Scott Sanders as a sales clerk because he has cerebal palsy, the agency charged in its lawsuit.

Sanders had successfully completed an internship with the company's training program. Yet the company refused to hire him, instead hiring a less qualified applicant, according to the EEOC.

Failing or refusing to hire an individual because he or she has a disability violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Advance Auto will pay $50,000 in monetary relief, although it denies liability.

Advance Auto also has agreed to provide training on an annual basis to all of its managers, supervisors; to post an employee notice regarding this settlement; and to report any allegations of disability discrimination by job applicants at the company’s Norton location to the EEOC.

“Federal law prohibits employers from taking discriminatory employment actions based on myths, stereotypes or assumptions about an individual’s disability, rather than the person’s actual ability to perform the job,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, whose jurisdiction includes most of Virginia.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site.