EEOC sued AMC Theater for alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the country’s largest cinema chain illegally forced an employee with cerebral palsy after two decades of work.
In a lawsuit filed this month, the EEOC claimed that the multi-core (AMC Theater) in the U.S. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied reasonable accommodation for its senior Owings Mills employee Marc Gillis.
“The employee has worked with the company for 22 years and requires very simple accommodation as an effective employee,” said Debra Lawrence, an attorney for the Philadelphia area.
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Complaints show that after more than 20 years of scanning tickets, helping clients and cleaning the theater at AMC, Gillis has obtained a new manager, shouting at him, calling him “slow.” The manager reduced his time and allegedly refused to provide him with ticket scanners with belts and side buttons, the facility previously provided accommodation. Additionally, the manager only occasionally provided Gillis with a large-scale printed version showing each movie and the theater it was playing, EEOC said.
Ultimately, the lawsuit indicated that the manager stopped including Gillis in his work schedule.
The EEOC said it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland after no settlement was reached with the company.
The EEOC hopes the court orders AMC to change its policies and practices to prevent discrimination with disabilities and provide Gillis with backpayment and additional compensation, as well as other relief.
AMC did not respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
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