Garney Construction Company and Georgia Power are being sued by the EEOC after the companies withdrew a job offer previously made to an applicant with controlled epilepsy. Georgia Power’s physical exam excluded people taking the applicant’s epilepsy medication.
According to the EEOC’s suit, Garney initially offered a front-end loader job to Bryan Mimmovich at its construction site at the Georgia Power plant. This contract with Georgia Power required applicants to pass a Department of Transportation physical exam for crane operators. Mimmovich had been on medication and seizure free since 1988 but had the job offer withdrawn for being on the epilepsy medication.
This behavior violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents employees from discrimination due to disabilities. The employee’s long controlled epilepsy by medication should not have impacted the hireability of Mimmovich, who was an extremely qualified candidate.
Garney Construction Co. specializes in water control work throughout the United States, with over 650 employees. Georgia Power is an electric utility in Georgia, with over 8,800 employees.