Tulsa World: St. John settles discrimination suit

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St. John settles discrimination suit
A hearing-impaired technician cited surgeons' loud music for problems that led to her firing.

By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer
Published: 11/19/2009 2:32 AM
Last Modified: 11/19/2009 5:39 AM

St. John Health System Inc. of Tulsa will pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced Wednesday.

According to a news release, the EEOC had charged that the company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to reasonably accommodate a hearing- impaired operating room scrub technician.

LaQuita Reherman had been employed by St. John for about six years when she was removed from her scrub technician position in March 2006 after several physicians complained about her being hard of hearing, the release states.

Reherman wears hearing aids in both ears, the EEOC said, but would have been able to hear doctors' instructions adequately if it were not for their practice of playing loud music in the operating room.

The music, coupled with her hearing impairment, caused the problems, according to the EEOC.

Reherman told St. John that she needed assistance in finding another position, but the hospital made no effort to help her.

The hospital put her in another position temporarily and then told her to find a new job in the hospital system, the EEOC said.

St. John fired Reherman in June 2006 after she was unable to find a vacant position.

"St. John should have done more for Ms. Reherman than tell her to locate a vacant position within the hospital system," EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Melvin Kennedy said.

"It is encouraging that this lawsuit settled so quickly and that St. John agreed to reporting provisions in the consent decree that will allow the EEOC to monitor its future responses to reasonable accommodation requests."

In a statement released by St. John, Director of Community Relations Cheena Pazzo said St. John would not comment on the details of the case.

"However, the organization is a committed equal opportunity employer, providing a work environment that is both safe and is sensitive to the needs of all employees, including those with disabilities," Pazzo said.

In addition to paying Reherman $100,000 in damages, St. John also agreed to provide disability discrimination training to all management and supervisory employees and to report all requests for reasonable accommodation to the EEOC for the next three years.

Althea Peterson 581-8361
althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer

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