Court Issues Key Decision in EEOC’S Lawsuit Against Hibbing Taconite Company

MINNEAPOLIS – Judge Richard Kyle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued an order denying in part the motion of Hibbing Taconite Company for summary judgment in a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In its lawsuit, EEOC v. Hibbing Taconite Company, Civ. No. 09-729 (RHK/RLE), the EEOC charged that Hibbing Taconite Company discriminated against James Edstrom, who is deaf, when it denied him employment at its mine. The EEOC contends that Hibbing Taconite rejected Edstrom, who formerly worked for LTV Mining, because of his hearing impairment, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

On March 5, Hibbing Taconite filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that it was entitled to an immediate judgment in its favor and without trial because, it contended, there were no disputed issues of fact, and that Edstrom was not qualified for the positions for which he applied, which included three in the plant and two in the open pit mine, because of his deafness.

Although the court granted summary judgment as to the jobs in the plant, it found that there was ample evidence on which a jury could find that Edstrom could have performed the jobs in the open pit mine with a reasonable accommodation, noting that Edstrom had already successfully worked at the LTV mine pit.

The court also concluded that a jury could find that Hibbing Taconite had acted in bad faith when it initially reversed its decision to interview Edstrom right after it learned that he was deaf.   The case has been set for trial in Duluth, Minn., on July 26, 2010.