Jewel-Osco pays $3.2M to settle discrimination complaint

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Jewel-Osco will pay $3.2 million to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday.

The commission had alleged the supermarket chain had a policy and practice of firing employees with disabilities at the end of medical leaves of absence. The commission alleged that about 1,000 employees allegedly had been terminated under this policy since 2003.

The commission said not all of the employees wanted to take part in the federal complaint, and that 110 former employees each will receive about $29,000 as part of the settlement.

The commission said it filed the lawsuit in 2009 alleging Jewel-Osco, a unit of Supervalu Inc., had violated the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. The commission said it first attempted to settle complaints with the company before filing the lawsuit.

Jewel-Osco denied the allegations in settling the lawsuit.

“While Supervalu and Jewel-Osco believe we have fully complied with the law, we ultimately chose to settle this case in order to avoid future litigation costs, put the matter behind us and focus on our current business initiatives,” Jewel-Osco spokesman Karen May said in a statement.

The commission said some of the fired workers had been on leave after suffering on-the-job injuries, while others were on leave because of other medical issues.

Merrillville, Ind. resident Rosemary Bednarek welcomed the settlement. She said after she injured her back at a Jewel-Osco store in Tinley Park lifting boxes of chickens in February 2004, the company would not accommodate her weight lifting restriction.