Norfolk Southern agrees to settle discrimination lawsuit
Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The suit, which the EEOC filed in September 2017, alleged that Norfolk Southern excluded prospective workers with certain physical and mental conditions without determining whether those conditions would actually affect the workers’ safety on the job.
Conditions that caused the railroad to turn away applicants or people returning from leave included cancer, diabetes, past drug addiction, arthritis, PTSD, heart conditions and “non-paralytic orthopedic impairments” (a category that includes conditions like chronic pain and bone or joint weakness), the commission alleged.
The EEOC accused Norfolk Southern of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that a worker’s disability or an employer’s perception of a worker’s disability cannot be used as grounds to deny employment.
A spokesman for Norfolk Southern said the agreement “resolves a matter initiated by the EEOC well over a decade ago.”
Media relations manager Jeff DeGraff’s emailed statement in response to a request for comment said, “We are confident no disability discrimination took place, but moving forward and focusing instead on our business and best-inclass employment practices is a better use of everyone’s time and resources. Norfolk Southern is committed to an inclusive work environment that is free from all forms of discrimination, includNorfolk ing disability discrimination.”
Norfolk Southern operates nearly 20,000 miles of Class I freight railway in the eastern United States. As of the end of the 2019 fiscal year, the company employed 24,587 people.
This is the second suit the railroad has settled with the EEOC this year.
In September 2018, the commission alleged that the company practiced age discrimination in hiring, prioritizing people under 52 years old for jobs because of a concern that older employees would retire soon after being hired. Norfolk Southern settled the suit in January 2020 for $350,000.
In the most recent case, in addition to the $2.5 million paid in the settlement, the commission said Norfolk Southern will need to implement proactive measures to prevent future discrimination against people with disabilities.