A federal judge signed a consent decree for $3,200,000 and extensive remedial relief resolving the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit against supermarket giants SUPERVALU INC., American Drug Stores LLC, and Jewel Food Stores, Inc. (collectively referred to as “Jewel-Osco”).

According to the EEOC, Jewel-Osco had a policy and practice of terminating employees with disabilities at the end of medical leaves of absence rather than bringing them back to work with reasonable accommodations. Approximately 1,000 employees of the defendants’ Jewel-Osco stores in the greater Chicago area were allegedly terminated under this policy since 2003, the EEOC said. Not all of these former employees wished to participate in the suit or were found eligible by the EEOC.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Case No. 09-cv-5637) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The consent decree resolving the case, signed this morning by Federal District Chief Judge Ronald Guzman, provides for a fund in which 110 individuals will share, bringing the average award to approximately $29,000 per claimant. In addition to the monetary relief, Jewel-Osco is required to ensure that its employees involved in making accommodation decisions undergo training on the requirements of the ADA and on the types of accommodations that are available to return their employees to the workplace.

Jewel-Osco will also hire consultants to review and recommend changes to its current job descriptions, ensure that the descriptions of the physical requirements of the job are accurate and provide recommendations on possible accommodations to common work restrictions in various positions in the stores. The company will have to report regularly to the EEOC on its efforts to accommodate employees with disabilities who are attempting to return from medical leaves of absence. Furthermore, Jewel-Osco will revise its communications with such employees to assure them that they need not be 100% healed in order to be considered for a return to work, and to inform them of some of the types of accommodations that may be available to them if they are considering returning to work with medical restrictions.