New York Beer Project tapped with civil lawsuit from federal agency

Thomas Tedesco, Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, N.Y.
·2 min read

Apr. 24—The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against New York Beer Project on behalf of two of its former employees.

In its lawsuit, the commission alleges that two employees of the brew pub's Victor location were terminated from their jobs because of their medical conditions.

"An employer cannot substitute their own judgment when an employee is capable of working," said Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the commission's New York District Office. "The ADA protects workers from such baseless fears and stereotypes."

According to the commission, one bartender told the brew pub that he was diagnosed with cancer, and claims the employer subsequently stopped scheduling him and ultimately fired him.

Around the same time, a second bartender disclosed that he had a nocturnal seizure. After a period of leave, he was provided a doctor's note to return to work without any restrictions. According to the commission, the brew pub "ignored his doctor's notes and refused to put him back on the schedule because it wrongly feared he would have a seizure at work," and also terminated his employment.

In a statement obtained by the Union-Sun & Journal, Olivia Krupski, New York Beer Project's director of marketing, said the business denies the claims.

"New York Beer Project has never, nor will it ever, discriminate against any employee based on a medical condition or any other characteristic. Period. We're disturbed by these baseless accusations and will vigorously defend ourselves," Krupski stated.

The commission filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The suit seeks back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for the affected employees, and injunctive relief to remedy and prevent future discrimination based on disability.

"Employees should not live in fear that a new medical diagnosis or disability will subject them to termination of their employment," Yaw Gyebi, Jr., director of the commission's New York District Office, said in a statement. "The EEOC is committed to enforcing the ADA to protect the rights of all workers."

Based in Lockport, New York Beer Project operates three restaurant and breweries in New York state and one in Florida.