Sears agreed to settle a case under the Americans With Disabilities Act for $6.2 million, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday

From Kansas City Star / Bloomberg

A federal court judge approved a consent decree settling the lawsuit today, the agency said.The case, in which Sears was accused of terminating employees instead of providing reasonable accommodations for their disabilities, is the largest settlement for a disability-related case for the employment commission, the agency said.

“The facts of this case showed that, nearly 20 years after the enactment of the ADA, the rights of individuals with disabilities are still in jeopardy,” said Stuart J. Ishimaru, the commission’s acting chairman. “At the same time, this record settlement sends the strongest possible message that the EEOC will use its enforcement authority boldly to protect those rights and advance equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.”

A Sears spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The commission’s allegations arose from a discrimination case filed by a former Sears service technician who was injured on the job, took a leave and was still disabled when he sought to return to work.

The commission said Sears refused to reinstate the technician with reasonable accommodation for his disability and fired him when his leave expired. Agency lawyers said they found more than 100 cases of employees who sought to return to work with an accommodation and were fired by the company.