The city of Fallon reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle allegations the city engaged in a pattern of discrimination against applicants for city positions.
The DOJ was notified in July 2013 and investigated the allegations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The allegations were the city required job applicants to disclose disabilities and/or medical information before they were offered city jobs.
Mayor Ken Tedford Jr. said the city was caught off guard by the allegations.
“The question that violated the disability act was on our employment application” Tedford said. “The question will have to be moved from the application to the second phase of employment.”
Tedford also stated the city was notified about its website not being easily accessible by the blind.
The agreement made between the city and the Justice Department requires the city to pledge to end the practice and to make sure this doesn’t happen again, Tedford said, including ADA training to all supervisors and employees involved in making hiring or personnel decisions and for an IT specialist to inspect the website to make sure it is accessible for the disabled.