The Obama administration will investigate if “losing one’s job” is a violation of federal civil rights law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced Tuesday.
The EEOC, the federal agency charged with enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, will examine whether “a company or employee” has discriminated against an employee, a person with a disability or a person who is a relative of the employee.
The agency said it will investigate whether the “employee’s disability was based on age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, veteran service, or veteran status as a former member of the armed forces.”
The EEPC also announced it will review whether a company or person has retaliated against a person for being an employee or employee’s relative.
The agency said in a news release that the action “would further advance EEOC’s mission to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities and promote equal employment opportunity across the country.”
The EEOC is a government agency charged under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.