PATH Made Workers Take ‘Unnecessary’ Medical Exams, Feds Allege

NEWARK, NJ — Federal authorities have reached a settlement with the Port Authority TransHudson (PATH) Corporation involving alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The Department of Justice filed an agreement in Newark federal court to resolve its lawsuit against the PATH, which operates a rail transit service between New York City and New Jersey.

The department’s suit alleges PATH subjected its workers to “unnecessary medical exams” and sought “unnecessary information” from those employees about their disabilities and other health conditions.

As part of the settlement agreement, PATH will pay a total of $100,000 to certain employees who were harmed by its exams and inquiries, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

“The ADA bars employers from requiring medical exams or inquiries of on-the-job employees unless the information sought is vital to job performance or safety. GINA bars employers from asking employees to disclose genetic information, including questions about family medical history.”

Under the terms of the agreement, which must be approved by the court, the PATH has agreed to stop unnecessary medical exams, as well as unnecessary questions about employees’ disabilities, health conditions and family medical history.

In addition to compensation for two employees, the settlement also requires PATH to train its staff on the ADA and GINA, and to periodically submit reports about its compliance with the agreement.

The case was handled by the department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey after the matter was referred from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Newark office.

“Workers deserve to be free from unlawful inquiries that could reveal a disability or family medical information,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said.

“We thank PATH for its cooperation with our investigation and its commitment to make changes necessary to protect the civil rights of its workers,” Honig said.

Prosecutors said that ADA complaints can be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint. Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may also file a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj... or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339.

DISABILITY SETTLEMENTS

Tuesday’s deal is the second settlement agreement involving a major transportation agency in the region and disability rights in as many weeks.

Earlier in November, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced a settlement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs Newark Airport. The agreement resolves allegations that the airport's rail station violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), prosecutors said.

Under the settlement agreement, Port Authority officials will have 15 months to modify multiple areas of the rail station, including physical modifications to multiple platforms, waiting areas and restrooms, prosecutors said.

The Port Authority fully cooperated with the investigation, prosecutors noted.

• See related article: Newark Airport Rail Station Violated Disability Law, Feds Say

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