KB Staffing LLC, a staffing firm serving central Florida, settled a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced. The charge filed with the EEOC alleged the company made unlawful pre-offer health inquiries of applicants in violation of federal law.

The court last week approved a consent decree resolving the case in which KB Staffing agreed to provide a $22,500 class fund, representing compensatory and punitive damages, designed to compensate applicants who were forced to disclose their sensitive medical and disability-related information in the application process. The three-year decree requires the company to affirmatively recruit individuals with disabilities, adopt and distribute a policy regarding disability discrimination, and train its management on the Americans with Disabilities Act’s prohibition against disability discrimination, including its requirements regarding medical examinations and screenings.

KB Staffing must certify each year that it has not made disability-related inquiries which are not consistent with business necessity and that it has maintained the confidentiality of its employees’ medical information. The company must also report detailed information concerning any disability discrimination complaints and post a notice concerning the lawsuit.

“Congress recognized that prohibiting pre-offer medical inquiries was necessary to prevent applicants from being subjected to harmful and unfounded stereotypes on the basis of an actual or perceived disability,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Robert Weisberg. “As staffing agencies now play a large role in our nation’s workforce, eliminating any discrimination in their screening practices is increasingly important to ensuring that workers with disabilities have equal access to work opportunities."