Burger chain to pay $34,000 after not hiring disfigured worker

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-hardees13.html

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hardee's has agreed to pay $34,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that one of its restaurants repeatedly refused to hire an applicant because her face was disfigured. snip

The EEOC said the suit, also filed Monday, alleged that the job seeker applied more than once for entry-level work at the Hardee's in Oak Grove, near Independence, but was never hired. The suit said others with no better qualifications were given jobs while the applicant was not. The woman has Treacher Collins Syndrome, a birth defect that caused a malformed cranial bone structure, asymmetrical eye placement and the absence of ears.

[benburch]

1. Good for her!

Though, I wonder if Hardees got off cheap here.

[Sgent]

2. I wonder

what the basis of their finding was. I assume that it was ADA, but not having the ability to hear would be a significant impedment to working in a kitchen. Given the current definition of "reasonable accomodation", they may not be subject to anything.

[Dhalgren]

5. She can probably hear fine; it is her external "ears" that are

missing...

[Ilsa]

6. She might be able to hear with a special type of bone conduction

hearing aid. The article didn't say she was deaf, just that she doesn't have ears. Or I suppose it is possible to interpret the article as TC Syndrome may cause malformation of ears or their absence.

[zbdent]

11. Have you seen some of the fast food joints now?

Quite a few of them now have monitors which relay the orders as text on screens.

No ears required (external, or working internal). Also (theoretically) cuts down on miscommunications and errors - when you can see exactly what's ordered.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

18. yes, exactly

I used to work at a Burger King that employed three deaf guys on back line. No hearing necessary.

[bluestateguy]

3. That's probably what an Asst. Manager of the joint makes

Good for her. Hope the lawyer doesn't suck the settlement dry.

[Straight Shooter]

13. I believe that may be an unfair slam at her attorney.

I wonder how many lawyers she had to visit before one would even take her case. It's an unusual situation and that lawyer had to do her homework (or his homework) to properly represent this client. $34,000 is not a lot of money, it was probably a contingency fee arrangement, and I'm guessing the attorney received one-third or 40% of that, maybe.

[HughBeaumont]

4. Making a burger like this does WONDERS for your ego.

1420 calories, 107 GRAMS of fat.

Who but Rush "still in the damned closet" Limbaugh could even get their MOUTH around that thing?

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. If they'd only hired her ...

she probably would have been their best employee. I remember a guy working at James Coney Island in Houston that had a deformed hand with only the stub of one finger and thumb. He was the fastest on the line and very friendly.

[BiggJawn]

8. Wow! 3 year's salary for a settlement!

Cool!
:sarcasm:

[KansDem]

9. This is a society based on looks...

The better-looking you're are perceived, the better the pay...

Good Looks May Mean Better Pay

(AP) Why wasn't I born rich instead of handsome? Or so the lament goes.

But the nation's central bank now says that if you're gorgeous, chances are better that you will get paid more than plain folks.
Analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis suggests that good-looking people tend to make more money and get promoted more often than those with average looks. The analysis is published in the April edition of The Regional Economist, the Fed's quarterly magazine.

Research analyst Kristie Engemann and economist Michael Owyang looked at the possible link between appearance and wages by evaluating previous surveys and research. Their conclusion: It helps to be tall, slender and attractive.

(more)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/07/tech/main686389.shtml

But unfortunately, not only does it apply to increased wages and promotions, but also to whether or not you're hired in the first place.

[Tempest]

10. What do you expect from a company with a long history of discrimination?

Do a Google search of Hardee's parent company, CKE Restaurants.

Seems they serve up discrimination as much as food.

[shanti]

12. so they all had equal qualifications?

and the applicant didn't get the job? if that is how i'm reading this, something's not right. nobody is guaranteed a job, regardless.

[petronius]

28. I would assume that she would be rejected one day

and then a similarly qualified applicant would apply a short time after her and get hired. The idea being that there was never an opening for her, but openings suddenly materialized for other applicants. It also apparently happened several times.

Your point would be applicable if it was a single employee chosen from a pool of applicants, but at a place where hiring is more or less continuous it is pretty suspicious if a qualified repat applicant doesn't get hired...

[arwalden]

14. More Info On Treacher Collins Syndrome

http://www.treachercollins.org/main.html

http://www.thecraniofacialcenter.org/treachercollins_traits.html

[northzax]

15. $34,000? bah

Cheaper to pay her $34k than go to trial, Hardees probably spent $50,000 on legal fees already for this case. it's a joke of a settlement for a joke of a case.

not that having Treacher Collins is a joke, far from it, but I'm not sure it should be qualified as a 'disability' under the terms of ADA, and you can certainly hire or not hire someone based on physical appearance, people do it all the time.

[daleo]

16. This goes beyond a matter of attractiveness, I would think

I presume the ruling was that this rose to the level of a physical disability, rather than just a matter of her being less than of average attractiveness by the standards of most people in society. It is something of a judgment call, I suppose, like the difference between "mere clumsiness" and a physical disability that caused uncontrollable shaking.

[northzax]

19. but if physical appearence is an integral part of the job

say, as someone preparing or serving food could be considered as such, then this would be a disability that interferes with the ability of the employee to do the job, a reasonable reason not to hire them.

[daleo]

27. Attractiveness isn't really part of the job as an activity,

But it may well be a customer expectation. It is undoubtedly true that many customers would avoid the place if someone was far enough from the norm in the looks department, particularly where a deformity is concerned. All societies rank people by looks, and capitalist societies are probably worse than most others. It is a shame all way around.

Personally I am glad the woman got the settlement, even if it may be somewhat unfair to the corporation. Just an emotional reaction, I guess.

[Bridget Burke]

31. So what happens to less-than-perfect customers?

Should they be discouraged? Not everybody is perfect.

[daleo]

32. I gather some nightclubs do just that.

But society has (sort of) gotten past the idea that people shouldn't be denied employment because of race and gender, just because customers may not want to be exposed to a more diverse world. Perhaps this barrier of looks will fall in time too. It really should.

[MrSlayer]

17. If they were afraid her visage would ruin appetites they could have....

let her work in the back out of customer view.

[Redstone]

22. Yup. It would be valid for them to not want to put her up front

at the counter...that may not seem fair, but it's a business, after all.

But they have jobs that don't involve being face-to-face with customers.

At an electronics company that I ran back in the 1970s, I hired a girl who had some kind of condition (I don't remember the name), that was kind of like the one described here...half of her face was "normal," in fact quiet attractive, but she had a nerve problem with the other side, which drooped and did not move (no nerves = no muscle movement).

I put her to work as a purchasing agent, which was all done over the phone and via Telex, and she did great...her self-confidence shot up by about a thousandfold as well.

Give people a job that they're comfortable doing, and they'll do well.

Redstone

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. seems like a very small settlement

I knew a family who had a child with this syndrome.
It is shocking at first to see such deformity, but after you are around the people for awhile, they become that - people.

We need to quit dehumanizing people.

At the worst case scenario, couldn't she have worked at the grill
(in the back)? Or maybe just work up front.

[JusticeForAll]

21. Agreed...it's very small

for the discrimination she has faced in this and all other parts of her life.

Corporate America sucks and so do people in general when it comes to accepting diversity.

[phrenzy]

23. Sad

I had never heard of this condition until now. I am kind of torn though. On one hand, I can kind of understand a restaurant not wanting to 'shock' every customer that comes in, on the other hand - people who have this condition are 100% functional and competent to do these jobs. It's a tough call. But, I do think this should qualify as a disability as this society bases so many employment opportunities on looks.

Anyway, good for her for taking this to court.

[professor skisurf]

24. discrimination not ok, even if customers aren't "comfortable"

I was just lecturing on employment law tonight in my diversity class, and IMHO this kind of condition would be considered a physical disability under the ADA; it's not just "physical appearance". As such, customer preference is not a legal defense for discrimination in hiring, and it is too bad that so many people seem to think that is a valid justification for not hiring someone or putting them to work "in the back". What if your customers didn't "like blacks" or thought "muslims make me uncomfortable"? Customer preference is not a legal defense and Hardee's is lucky they got off with such a small settlement.

[LisaL]

25. I feel sorry for her, but those customer service jobs have

certain requirement. For instance, when I worked at the gas station, we were supposed to smile at customers. You could be fired if you weren't smiling (no joke). If someone's face is paralyzed, then they couldn't be smiling at customers, could they?

[Digit]

26. Hopefully, she can use some of this money to get a REAL job

One that allows for some upward mobility.
Shame on Hardee's!

[noonwitch]

29. I hope she finds a job somewhere else

Maybe McDonalds would hire her? They have a good reputation for hiring the developmentally delayed.

[SomewhereOutThere424]

30. That's one branch of federal I still respect

The EEOC. After talking to my friend who works there...it's disgusting to hear how discriminatory this country has become.