Smiths Detection Inc., to Pay $100,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

BALTIMORE – Smiths Detection, Inc., a leading manufacturer of threat detection equipment headquartered in Edgewood, Maryland, will pay $100,000 and furnish significant remedial relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the suit, in the fall of 2023, a manufacturing employee who suffered from complete hearing loss in her left ear asked for personal protective equipment to protect her residual hearing which was affected by manufacturing equipment noise in an area where she worked as a team lead. In December 2023, the employer responded by demoting her from team lead and assigning her to a quieter area. The demotion resulted in a reduction in pay, according to the lawsuit.

“An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation absent undue hardship,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. “Demoting an employee so as to avoid providing a reasonable accommodation does not discharge an employer’s obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation; it merely compounds the employer’s unlawful behavior.”

The alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. In August 2024, the EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Smiths Detection Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-2510) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“The ADA requires that employers and employees engage in an interactive process to find reasonable accommodations,” said EEOC’s Philadelphia District Director Jaime Williamson. “An employer violates the ADA when it uses its leverage to deal out a career setback instead of a reasonable accommodation.”

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources.

The EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office is one of four offices in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and parts of New Jersey, and Ohio. Attorneys in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.