EEOC Sues Bombardier for Disability Discrimination

TUCSON, Ariz. — Montreal, Canada-headquartered Bombardier, an aircraft manufacturing and maintenance company with job sites across the United States, violated federal law when it screened out a class of job applicants based on an unlawful qualification standard, failed to accommodate their disabilities, and refused to hire job applicants with disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an airplane mechanic with more than 15 years’ experience was recruited to work at Bombardier’s Tucson location. The mechanic moved his family to Arizona based on his conditional offer but was refused hire after he did not pass Bombardier’s Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) in November 2019 because of a congenital condition. The mechanic passed all the other physical testing required by Bombardier except the PFT. He had also successfully worked for Bombardier in the same position in 2017 without having to pass a PFT and worked for at least eight other aviation companies without having to pass a PFT, according to the suit.

In its complaint, the EEOC alleges the PFT, which the company required for many positions, measures lung volume and air flow to purportedly determine if the applicant is medically able to use a respirator, is an unlawful qualification standard and not job-related or consistent with business necessity because use of a respirator is not an essential function of the positions at issue. Bombardier also did not evaluate whether other types of respirators could be used and did not offer alternative respirators or alternative testing. Instead, Bombardier screened out and denied hire to a class of qualified job applicants who did not pass the PFT because of their disabilities, the EEOC said.

“Employers that use pre-employment physical tests cannot use the results as a blanket barrier that excludes qualified candidates because of their disabilities,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District. “Employers must show the tests are job-related and consistent with business necessity, and they must engage in the interactive process to evaluate whether job applicants can perform the essential functions of the job with a reasonable accommodation before disqualifying applicants.”

This alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits using qualification standards that screen out or tend to screen out people with disabilities, failing to accommodate people with disabilities absent undue hardship, and failing to hire qualified job applicants with disabilities. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Learjet, Inc. d/b/a Bombardier, Case No. 4:26-cv-00492-MSA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC Phoenix District Director Melinda Caraballo said, “Federal law protects the right of workers with disabilities to earn a living and be judged based on their qualifications. Any qualification standards an employer uses must be based on the actual needs of the job and must be in compliance with the ADA.”

For more information about disability discrimination, visit: www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources. For more information about discriminatory qualification standards, visit: www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources/qualification-standards.

The EEOC’s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and part of New Mexico.

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.