Electric utility Georgia Power Co. has agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle charges it refused to hire applicants and fired employees based on their actual or perceived disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.

The EEOC said in its statement that the Atlanta-based utility violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by in some cases disregarding the opinions of physicians who supported employees’ and applicants’ ability to work.

It said rather than independently evaluating each employee or applicant, Georgia Power simply refused to hire disabled participants or return employees to work following a medically related absence.

It said in other cases, the utility automatically disqualified employees and applicants under its seizure policy or its drug and alcohol policy without individually assessing the employees’ or applicants’ ability to work.

The agency said the utility’s discriminatory policies and practices affected 24 individuals.

In addition to paying the $1.6 million, Georgia Power agreed to change both its seizure and its drug and alcohol policy, among other provisions of the consent decree.

EEOC District Director Bernice Williams-Kimbrough said in a statement, “An employer cannot refuse to hire or return an employee with a disability to work without doing an individualized assessment of that person and determining whether the employee or applicant can perform the job with or without a reasonable accommodation. These steps are the essence of the ADA.”

Georgia Power said in a statement, "The safety of our employees is our top priority and we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive work environment for all of our 7,000-plus employees across the state. Our strict policies on seizures and drugs and alcohol help ensure that employees with safety-sensitive job requirements can safely do their jobs every day.

"While Georgia Power denies that it discriminated against any employees or applicants based on alleged disabilities, in light of our commitment to safety and our employees, the company has agreed to modify its seizure policy and drug and alcohol policy, and formalize its process of assessing employees' and applicants' ability to safely and properly perform their job.

"We believe that these modifications will further enhance the safe workplace we provide for our employees and contractors."