EEOC Sues MedStar Health, Inc. and MedStar Southern Maryland Health Center for Disability Discrimination

GREENBELT, Md. — MedStar Health, Inc., a healthcare network in Maryland, and member hospital MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Maryland, violated federal law by failing to hire an applicant with a disability and conducting an unlawful post-offer medical examination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in March 2024, MedStar extended a job offer to an applicant in an admitting registrar position, and the applicant accepted the job offer. MedStar then subjected the applicant to medical examinations and inquiries, including requiring him to undergo an occupational health evaluation, respond to medical inquiries, and otherwise comply with medical examination and inquiry requirements.

After discovering that the applicant is disabled, MedStar used results of the medical examinations and inquiries to discriminate against the applicant in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including denying him medical clearance to work and demanding that he stop receiving intravenous treatment for his disability. MedStar denied him reasonable accommodations, revoked the job offer, and refused to hire him, the EEOC said.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from making hiring decisions based on stereotypes or fears of a disability,” said Debra M. Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District. “Where an employer chooses to require an applicant to undergo medical examinations and inquiries, and to condition employment on the results of such examinations, the employer must use information gathered during that process in accordance with the law.”

The alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities unless it would cause undue hardship.

Karen McDonough, acting director of the EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office, said, “The EEOC is committed to enforcing the ADA and fulfilling the statute’s promise of equal employment opportunity for individuals with disabilities.”

The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Southern Division (U.S. EEOC v. MedStar Health Inc., et al., Case No. 1-26-cv-03585- TDC) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

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

The lawsuit was initiated by the EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office, one of four component offices of the agency’s Philadelphia District Office. The Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and portions of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and portions 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.