Sears to settle EEOC bias case for $6.2 million

Sears Roebuck & Co. agreed to settle a case under the Americans With Disabilities Act for $6.2 million, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

A federal court judge approved a consent decree settling the lawsuit today, the agency said in an e-mailed statement. The case, in which the retailer was accused of terminating employees instead of providing reasonable accommodations for their disabilities, is the commission's largest disability-related case settlement, the agency said.

"The facts of this case showed that, nearly 20 years after the enactment of the ADA, the rights of individuals with disabilities are still in jeopardy," said Stuart J. Ishimaru, the commission's acting chairman. "The EEOC will use its enforcement authority boldly to protect those rights and advance equal employment opportunities."

Sears Holdings Corp., the biggest U.S. department-store company, settled the case because the legal proceedings could have taken another five years and "considerable expense" to resolve, said Kimberly Freely, a spokeswoman.

"Sears continues to believe that it reasonably accommodates its associates on leave due to work-related illnesses or injuries under the Americans With Disabilities Act," Freely said in a statement. "We have always proceeded and will continue to proceed in good faith when considering and making reasonable accommodations for our associates."

Sears Holdings fell 12 cents to $66.17 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 2 p.m. in New York. The stock of the Hoffman Estates-based company has risen 70 percent this year.

The commission's allegations arose from a discrimination case filed by a former Sears service technician who was injured on the job, took a leave and was still disabled when he sought to return to work.

Sears refused to reinstate the technician with reasonable accommodation for his disability and fired him when his leave expired, the commission said.

Agency lawyers said they found more than 100 cases of employees who sought to return to work with an accommodation and were fired by the company.