Retired Mail-handler Loses EEOC Appeal

A former bulk mail technician at an Illinois postal facility has lost an appeal to the Federal District Court in Rockford. The postal worker, Dorothea Washington, had contested an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decision that found that the postal service did not unfairly discriminate against her when it required that she pass certain physical fitness tests before she would be cleared to return to work.

According to court documents, Washington broke her leg in a non-work-related accident in 2010 and re-injured the leg at work in 2011. She applied for and received workers’ compensation benefits after reinjuring the leg at work, and sought to return to full-time duty after her doctor cleared her. However, postal officials would not let her return until she submitted to a number of medical examinations, as well a fitness-for-duty exam. A combination of scheduling conflicts and substandard performance on those tests prevented Washington from returning to work, and in 2012, she decided to take early retirement.

After retirement, Washington lodged a complaint with the EEOC, alleging discrimination. Washington argued that postal officials had violated the federal Rehabilitation Act, which forbids discrimination based on a physical disability by agencies and programs receiving federal funding. She asserted that her doctor’s clearance should have been sufficient to allow her to return to her job.

The EEOC, however, concluded that the post office had “legitimate, nondiscriminatory” reasons for requiring Washington to demonstrate her fitness for duty. The federal district court agreed, concluding that Washington had not been the victim of unlawful discrimination. The court found that an employer has a legitimate interest in determining whether an employee can physically perform the job. That’s what the postal service was trying to do when Washington retired, they concluded.

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