Elon Property Management to Pay $200,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

TAMPA – Elon Property Management LLC, a residential property management company operating in several states, including Florida, agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Elon retaliated against a district manager for taking a medical leave of absence when it placed her on a performance improvement plan the day she returned from leave. The company also punished her for a decline in occupancy rates at her properties while she was on leave.

Additionally, the EEOC alleged Elon screened out workers with disabilities by prohibiting employees from returning from a medical leave of absence without a full-duty release note from their physician and a physician-signed copy of their job description. Together, these discriminatory practices prohibited disabled employees from returning to work if they needed an accommodation.

“Policies that require an employee to be 100% before returning to work are unlawful,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Kristen Foslid. “Employers must assess whether an employee can perform the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.”

Elon’s alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination in employment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Elon Property Management Company, LLC, Civil Action No. 8:24-CV-02939-MSS-LSG) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to providing monetary relief, the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires Elon to provide monetary relief to multiple former employees; revise and redistribute its ADA and leave policies; provide specialized training on the ADA to all employees; and post a notice informing employees of the settlement and of their rights against discrimination. Furthermore, the company will provide the EEOC with biannual reports regarding requests for disability accommodations, as well as employee complaints of disability discrimination or retaliation.

EEOC Tampa Field Office Director Tamra Schweiberger said, “Under the terms of the consent decree, Elon will implement policy changes to prevent discrimination of this type from happening again. We are pleased that this company promptly resolved the suit.”

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination-and-employment-decisions. For more information on reasonable accommodations, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources/reasonable-accommodation.

The Miami District Office’s jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico, and the 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.