Total Systems Services to Pay $65,000 in Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

ATLANTA - Total Systems Services, LLC, a global payments processing company based in Columbus, Georgia, will pay $65,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC's lawsuit charged that from May through August 2020, a customer service representative with a disability who worked in a Total Systems call center repeatedly requested remote work as a reasonable accommodation because of her high-risk status with respect to COVID-19. At the time, the employee's call center co-workers were regularly testing positive for the virus, the EEOC said.

On the advice of her doctor, the employee requested remote work after a May 2020 workplace COVID-19 exposure. Total Systems denied the employee's reasonable accommodation request based on criteria that applied equally to all customer service representatives seeking to work remotely instead of engaging in an individualized assessment of the employee's disability-related needs, as required by the ADA. To avoid further exposure-and the increased risks she faced if she contracted COVID-19-the employee went on medical leave. The company again denied her request for remote work, and she was required to return to in-facility work even though many other employees in her department had transitioned to remote work. Total Systems continued to deny the employee's reasonable accommodation request and the employee was forced to resign in August 2020 to ensure her own safety, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 1:23-CV-1311-WMR) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Under the two-year decree resolving the lawsuit, Total Systems will pay $65,000 in monetary damages to the former employee; implement an ADA compliance policy and distribute it to all employees; provide annual training to its U.S. managers and human resources personnel on the ADA; and allow the EEOC to monitor how it processes future ADA accommodation requests.

"The ADA requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities," said Marcus G. Keegan, a regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta office. "The EEOC is pleased that Total Systems has agreed to compensate its former employee and that Total Systems will take steps to train its human resources and management staff to prevent future violations."

Darrell Graham, district director for the EEOC's Atlanta District Office, said, "The EEOC is committed to enforcing employee rights under the ADA. Under the ADA, an employer may be required to engage in an individualized inquiry when an employee raises disability claims to ensure they are complying with the law."

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The Atlanta District Office has jurisdiction over the State of Georgia and the State of South Carolina Counties of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper and Williamsburg.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.