A staffing firm faces a lawsuit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after it didn’t hire a welder because of a prior injury.

CW Inc., which does business as CPG Staffing and Executive Personnel Group, rescinded the offer to a welder in Hazlehurst, Georgia, because of a former knee injury, according to the EEOC. CPG and Executive Personnel are sister companies that provide staffing to construction sites.

The welder suffered the injury two years prior and had completely recovered, the EEOC reported. The applicant also successfully passed a welding test that involved climbing on ladders, crouching and crawling on beams. Then the person disclosed he had previously been treated for a knee injury from a prior job during a post-offer medical questionnaire, though he also indicated he could operate as a welder and did not require reasonable accommodation. He also provided a letter from his physician clearing him to work.

Still, Executive Personnel’s risk manager instructed CPG not to hire the applicant because of the prior injury, according to the EEOC.

“The [Americans with Disabilities Act] prohibits discrimination against an applicant for employment because of a disability, whether it is actual or perceived,” Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said in a press release. “CPG Staffing and Executive Personnel Group violated the ADA by rescinding a job offer to a qualified applicant because they regarded him as having a disability.”

The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 9.

CW has been contacted for comment.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. CW Inc. et al; US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia; 2:24-cv-00138