EEOC files ADA suit against nonprofit that serves people with disabilities

A nonprofit organization that provides programs for people with disabilities was charged in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed Thursday with disabilities discrimination.

The EEOC said a woman with a hip impairment, who had worked as a janitor for Vancouver, Washington-based Innovative Services NW for seven years, asked in November 2019 to use an upright vacuum rather than a backpack vacuum as an accommodation when she was ready to return from Family Medical Leave Act leave after having hip surgery, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

The organization denied her request, and she was terminated in January 2020.

Innovative Services is charged with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The agency seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages,  and injunctive relief.

A spokesperson for Innovative Services could not be reached for comment.