EEOC Wins $405,083 Jury Verdict Against St. Petersburg Senior Living Facility

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal jury awarded $405,083 to a veteran in a disability discrimination case against a St. Petersburg, Fla. senior living facility and its operating companies, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, The Princess Martha, the senior living facility managed by TJM Property Management and TJM Properties Inc., violated federal law when they denied a reasonable accommodation and refused to hire a veteran who applied for a job.

The EEOC presented evidence at trial showing that the applicant disclosed to The Princess Martha’s hiring manager that she is a veteran with post-traumatic stress syndrome and took medication to treat the condition, which would cause a drug test to fail. Thereafter, the applicant took the required drug test and made repeated attempts to provide proof of her legally prescribed medications, but The Princess Martha made no attempts to accommodate her and revoked her job offer. At trial, a top management official admitted that The Princess Martha submitted false information to the EEOC.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Princess Martha, LLC, et al., Civil Action No 8:22-cv-2181-CEH-TGW) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The Tampa jury of eight returned a unanimous verdict finding that the applicant had a disability, disclosed the disability to The Princess Martha, and that the facility refused to accommodate her in the application process. The jury awarded $5,083 in back pay, $50,000 in compensatory damages, and $350,000 in punitive damages. The jury also found that the two other defendants, the TJM entities, were integrated enterprises with The Princess Martha.

EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas said, “The EEOC is committed to protecting the workplace accommodation rights of disabled veterans, including those who may be suffering from PTSD.”

“The jury sent a strong message to employers to comply with the ADA’s requirement to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees,” said Beatriz Andre, assistant regional attorney of the EEOC’s Miami District Office.

EEOC Trial Attorney and Lead Counsel Lucas Michelen said, “This verdict signals to employers to not only be aware of the ADA’s requirements, but also to train management and hiring officials on their duties and responsibilities under the ADA.”

EEOC Tampa Field Office Director Tamra Schweiberger said, “The EEOC’s mission is to enforce the ADA, whether through a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, or through litigation. Here the jury ensured enforcement through the litigation process.”

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

The Miami District Office’s jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

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 is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. 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. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.