Dorothy Shanks may have lost a portion of her leg, but she said she hasn't lost her ability to work.
In a lawsuit filed this week against a staffing company, Staffmark Investment, and its client, Sony Electronics, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges the Chicago-area woman was fired simply because she has a prosthetic leg.
Shanks, of Plano, said things went well her first day on the assembly line at the Romeoville facility in October 2010. But her second day brought a surprise.
"The lady said, 'Dorothy Shanks, would you come with me?' and then she said, 'Bring all your belongings,' and then I said, 'What, I'm not going to be working over here?' and she said, 'No, just come with me," the 60-year-old recalled Wednesday.
Shanks said the Staffmark employee told her she would be put in a position that allowed her to sit, but federal investigators say she was never put on another job, despite repeated calls asking for work.
The EEOC says her dismissal is a direct violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"The only thing I could think of that they would that they discriminate against me because I'm walking with a limp," she said.
An attorney for Staffmark declined to comment on the lawsuit. A Sony Electronics executive says it lacks merit.
In the meantime, Shanks has a new job and reports to work next Monday.
"I lost my leg, true enough, but I didn't lose the willpower that I have to work," she said.
