Sears pays record $6.2 million to settle charges it discriminated against disabled workers

Sears pays $6.2 million to settle bias case

WASHINGTON — Sears Holdings Corp. has agreed to pay a record $6.2 million to settle allegations that it illegally fired disabled employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the settlement is the largest it has reached in a single case under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The EEOC claimed the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer fired hundreds of employees who took workers’ compensation leave after being injured on the job. The lawsuit said Sears failed to offer injured workers a reasonable accommodation that would have allowed them to return to work.

A consent decree approving the settlement requires Sears to abide by the ADA and change its workers’ compensation leave policy.