Champion Media Agrees to Pay $102,500 to Employee in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit

Resolves Federal Charges That News Organization Refused to Hire Applicant Because of Deafness

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina-based publishing company Champion Media, LLC will pay $102,500 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, a deaf job applicant applied for a job at Champion Media’s printing facility in Lumberton, North Carolina. After participating in an initial conversation over the phone and with the assistance of a video relay service, the applicant, who met the requirements for the position, was selected for an in-person interview. The applicant requested that Champion Media provide a sign language interpreter as an accommodation for the interview. Instead of providing an interpreter, Champion Media canceled the interview and did not hire the applicant for the job, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits companies from refusing to hire individuals because of a disability and, absent undue hardship, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to job applicants during the hiring process. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Champion Media, LLC d/b/a The Robesonian, Case No. 7:24-cv-00707) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to paying monetary damages, the three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit requires Champion Media to conduct annual trainings, post an employee notice, and submit periodic compliance reports to the EEOC.

“Under the ADA, the mandate that employers provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities applies to job applicants as well as to existing employees,” said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District. “This includes providing individuals with disabilities access to all aspects of the hiring process.”

Samuel Williams, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Raleigh Area Office, said, “Individuals with disabilities have a right to work and the EEOC will aggressively pursue all appropriate avenues of relief for victims of discrimination.”