M-T Bank pays $100,000 to settle disability suit

On January 22, 2020, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (doing business as M&T Bank) agreed to pay $100,000 and provide significant equitable relief to resolve a federal disability lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the lawsuit, an M&T branch manager in Baltimore told a vice president she needed surgery for a pregnancy-related disability. While she was out on approved leave, M&T informed her it would fill her position unless she was medically cleared to return to work within 10 days.

Months later, after giving birth and receiving medical clearance to return to work, M&T required the manager to apply for vacant positions for which she was qualified instead of simply reassigning her to one of them as a reasonable accommodation. Further, even though there were at least 24 vacant branch manager or assistant branch manager positions available in the greater Baltimore region at the time she attempted to return to work, the EEOC alleged M&T discharged her because of her disability record.

On September 10, 2019, a district court granted the EEOC's request for summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) on its reasonable accommodation claim, finding the manager had a disability within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and was entitled to noncompetitive reassignment to a vacant position for which she was qualified as a reasonable accommodation.