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The EEOC says a houston-area developer fired a legally blind engineer on his first day after promising the equipment he asked for. Table of Contents The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on September 28 that it has sued Majestic Developers, LLC, a real estate developer in Sugar Land, Texas, alleging the company fired a legally blind engineer on his first day of work. According to the EEOC's announcement, the engineer asked during hiring whether the company would provide specific computer equipment, was assured it would, and moved his family from Georgia to Texas for the job. The lawsuit is an allegation, and the announcement includes no response from the company. What the EEOC says happened on the first day. Majestic Developers offered the applicant a job in late 2024 designing drainage systems for its Houston-area real estate projects, the EEOC says. He held a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering, and the agency describes him as well qualified. When he arrived for work, he asked about the computer equipment and discussed his need to close the blinds in his office to reduce light and glare. The hiring manager conferred with a senior manager, sent him home, and told him he was terminated. The senior manager then emailed the recruiter who had helped identify him as a candidate to say the company wouldn't be able to accommodate him, even though, according to the EEOC, the hiring manager had already accepted his accommodations. The case is EEOC v. Majestic Developers, LLC, No. 4:26-cv-08387, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, and Law360 lists the filing date as September 25. The EEOC sued after first trying to settle through its conciliation process, and it's seeking back pay, compensatory damages, an injunction, and an order requiring the company to adopt policies for handling accommodation requests. "Federal law ensures that applicants and employees are provided reasonable accommodation, absent undue hardship, and not discharged due to their disabilities," said Jeremy Crosbie, deputy director of the EEOC's Houston District. What the ADA says about accommodations agreed to during hiring. The ADA's protections start before the first paycheck. Under 42 U.S.C. 12112, discrimination includes failing to accommodate the known limitations of a qualified applicant or employee unless the employer can show undue hardship, and "denying employment opportunities" to a qualified person when the denial "is based on the need" to make an accommodation. The law defines undue hardship as significant difficulty or expense, weighed against the employer's size and resources. The EEOC's guidance on visual disabilities in the workplace lists screen magnification software, larger high-contrast monitors, screen readers, and changes to a workspace's lighting as accommodations. It also says applicants "may find it helpful to discuss any necessary accommodations with the employer prior to starting a new position," and that retaliating against someone for requesting an accommodation is unlawful. In the EEOC's account, the engineer raised his needs before starting, as the guidance suggests, and was fired when he followed up on them. The suit follows other ADA cases the EEOC announced this month, against MedStar Health and Eastern Shipbuilding over job offers pulled after post-offer medical exams, Ollie's Bargain Outlet over a hearing requirement at a Texas warehouse, and the operators of VRI Research, a Las Vegas call center where a manager allegedly said he "didn't do accommodations." What this means for families. The sequence in the EEOC's account carries over to other job seekers: the request came during hiring, the family moved on the strength of the answer, and the refusal came after the move. For a young adult who is blind or has low vision and is weighing an out-of-state offer, or a parent helping with that decision, the weeks between the offer and the start date are when an accommodation agreement is easiest to pin down. The ADA doesn't require accommodation requests or approvals to be written, and the EEOC's guidance says there are no "magic words" for asking. A dated email that names the equipment and records the employer's answer still shows two things later: that the employer knew about the need before the start date, and who agreed to meet it. In this case, the EEOC's announcement cites an email in which the senior manager told the recruiter the company couldn't accommodate the engineer. What families can do now. * Before resigning another job or signing a lease, email the hiring manager a list of each accommodation by name, such as the magnification software, the monitor, or window blinds, and ask for a reply confirming it will be ready on the start date and naming who is ordering it. The site's guide to requesting accommodations under the ADA covers the wording, and the Job Accommodation Network, whose vision page lists window treatments and screen reading software, answers questions free at 800-526-7234. * If the equipment isn't there on day one, raise it by email as well as in person, ask for the date it will arrive, and keep copies of the offer, the confirmation, and every reply outside a work account. * In Texas, an EEOC disability charge against an employer with 15 or more employees can be filed within 300 days, because the state has its own enforcement agency, but a state-law complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division is due within 180 days. Filing within 180 days keeps both open, and other states' limits are on the EEOC's time limits page. Charges go through the EEOC's online portal or 1-800-669-4000, and the site's step-by-step filing guide walks through the process. The case now proceeds in federal court in Houston. The EEOC's announcement and its visual disabilities guidance are posted on eeoc.gov. Topics Covered in this Article

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and MedStar Health celebrate $1.1 million gift to services supporting women, infants, and Community Pediatrics. Sep 25, 2026, 18:29 ET WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - MedStar Health and Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) are proud to continue their philanthropic partnership supporting some of the District's most vulnerable residents. Through a $1.1 million donation, MSE will continue funding MedStar Health services providing specialized care to birthing mothers, infants, and children of all ages in Washington, D.C. In 2024, MSE pledged annual philanthropic support over five years to help expand access to this potentially life-saving care. "We offer gratitude to our partners at Monumental Sports & Entertainment for their continued support," said Kenneth A. Samet, FACHE, president and CEO of MedStar Health. "Caring for our communities is a team sport, and alongside great teammates, we are proud to be there for our young families where they need us and when they need us." "Sports teams have a responsibility to give back to the communities they call home and to be there for families when they need support most. That commitment is at the heart of our longstanding partnership with MedStar Health," said Ted Leonsis, founder, chairman, managing partner and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment. "MedStar Health is delivering incredibly important care for mothers and children across Washington, D.C., and has been an exceptional partner in helping us deliver meaningful impact by improving the health and strength of our community." Women and Infant Services Support for MedStar Health's Safe Babies Safe Moms program connects birthing mothers to prenatal care, nutrition support, parenting education, and mental health resources beginning before pregnancy and continuing until a child turns three. Through community partnerships, the program also helps with transportation, housing, and legal support. According to a recent study, many women cared for by Safe Babies Safe Moms are less likely to have low birthweight babies and preterm births. "Achieving better outcomes for mothers and babies is a national issue that we are gaining ground on through Safe Babies Safe Moms," said Angela D. Thomas DrPH, MPH, vice president of Healthcare Delivery Research at MedStar Health Research Institute. "Partners like Monumental Sports & Entertainment who help sustain this life-saving work are invaluable." MSE's gift will also support MedStar Health's Mother-Baby Intensive Outpatient program for pregnant and postpartum mothers with mood and anxiety disorders. Community Pediatrics MSE continues its transformative support for the MedStar Health Kids Mobile Medical Clinic, which has provided thousands of children across the District with convenient access to high-quality and affordable primary care for more than 30 years. The clinic's medical and wellbeing units make weekly stops to neighborhoods in D.C. Wards 6 and 7, seeing about 800 patients each year. Families are never billed for services. Care teams also screen for challenges related to food insecurity, housing, education, income, and community safety. Two years ago, support from MSE helped the clinic maintain its second wellbeing unit, dedicated to screening families for food insecurity, housing, education, income, and community safety. Both units received state-of-the-art functional and clinical upgrades, as well as a fresh blue-and-maize exterior featuring logos of the Washington Wizards, Mystics, Capitals, and Capital City Go-Go. "We share Monumental Sports & Entertainment's vision to create a Washington, D.C., that is healthy and thriving for everybody. I am proud to serve alongside them on behalf of this community," said Janine A. Rethy, MD, MPH, division chief of Community Pediatrics and medical director of the MedStar Health Kids Mobile Medical Clinic. Since 2019, MSE and The Leonsis Family have provided more than $13 million in philanthropic support to MedStar Health initiatives, including women and infant services, pediatric community health, COVID-19 response, the MedStar Health Center for Wellbeing, and the sports medicine program at MedStar Health Lafayette Centre. SOURCE MedStar Health

EEOC sues MedStar Health, Inc. and MedStar Southern Maryland Health Center for disability discrimination. GREENBELT, Md. - MedStar Health, Inc., a healthcare network in Maryland, and member hospital MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Maryland, violated federal law by failing to hire an applicant with a disability and conducting an unlawful post-offer medical examination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.