[nfbmi-talk] blind justice in colorado

[joe harcz Comcast]

Business Aurora company ordered to rehire legally blind worker, pay $200,000.. A legally blind man who worked for Aurora-based Beverage Distributors Co.

must be allowed to work as a night warehouse loader and be paid about $200,000 in back pay and interest, a Denver federal judge ruled.. U.S. District Judge

Christine Arguello ordered BDC to hire Mike Sungaila as a night warehouse loader and pay him $132,347 in back pay and interest for a total of about $200,000,

according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC said Sungaila, who is legally blind, worked for BDC for more than four years as

a driver's helper. When the company decided to eliminate his position and instead use contract laborers, Sungaila applied for a position as a night warehouse

loader. BDC offered Sungaila the position subject to a pre-employment medical examination but withdrew the offer after the exam believing he could not

safely perform the functions of the position due to poor eyesight. The position involves loading cases of liquor and kegs of beer into the back of trucks.

The EEOC, contending that Sungaila could safely perform the job, sued BDC. A jury initially awarded Sungaila $132,347 in back pay, but found that his damages

should be reduced by $102,803 because the jury believed that Sungaila could have mitigated his damages by finding a comparable position. But Arguello threw

out the jury's finding, ruling that BDC failed to prove there were any available comparable jobs that Sungaila could have performed. Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939,

hpankratz at denverpost.com or twitter.com/ howardpankratz