Jo's Cafe

I believe a good portion of discrimination is based in misunderstanding.

Indianapolis Ruling Highlights Diabetes Discrimination

A diabetic who was turned down for a promotion because of his illness won a lawsuit this week, but experts say the Pendleton man’s case is just one example of discrimination against people with the disease.

A federal jury in Indianapolis awarded Gary Branham $78,000 in back pay after the IRS rescinded his promotion to special agent. Branham listed insulin as a medication on a health screening for the job, and the IRS said they feared insulin shock could make him unresponsive.

The job would have required Branham to carry a gun.

“They told me that I couldn’t have the job because I posed a threat to myself or others,” he told The Indianapolis Star.

Did they even ask the guy about his diabetes maintenance program?

Branham’s case isn’t the first to highlight discrimination against diabetics.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached a $20,000 settlement in 2003 with a Wisconsin candy company that was accused of firing a worker because he was diabetic.

Earlier this year, an Arizona school board reversed a policy prohibiting a student with diabetes from carrying his blood-sugar testing equipment on his high school’s campus, under the threat of a lawsuit.

That ban was instituted after the boy allegedly left his diabetic emergency kit with lancets and needles in his locker during summer break.

Although Branham won money in his lawsuit, the 41-year-old man won’t be able to get the promotion. The age limit for the applicants to the position is 37.

Linked to Basil’s Lunch Feast 12/22/05