Brief Overview

  • Pearson Education will pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The agency announced in an August 21 press release that the company failed to provide reasonable accommodations for visually impaired employees by requiring them to use benefits, leave, and training platforms that were not fully accessible.
  • The EEOC sued Pearson in 2025, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The complaint stated that the vendor-provided platforms were incompatible with screen reader software and had other technical issues, preventing affected employees from accessing training and related information on an equal basis with their non-visually impaired colleagues.
  • Under the consent decree, Pearson agreed to take several measures, including hiring a web accessibility consultant and notifying third-party vendors to make modifications and improvements to the platforms.

In-Depth Analysis

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations so that employees with disabilities can enjoy equal terms, conditions, benefits, and privileges of employment. The EEOC has clarified in its guidance that these accommodations include matters such as training.

One example highlighted by the agency: a blind employee requested that training course materials be provided in Braille. The EEOC noted that a contracted company providing training is obligated under the ADA to provide auxiliary aids and services, but regardless of whether the contractor fulfills its ADA obligations, the employer must provide reasonable accommodations for its employees.

The commission stated in its guidance that employers and third parties can specify in relevant contracts which party is responsible for providing necessary accommodations to avoid confusion and ensure compliance.

"When employers use online systems for benefits, leave, or training, accessibility cannot be an afterthought," said EEOC Regional Attorney Kimberly Cruz in the press release. "Technology that shuts out employees with disabilities deprives them of equal opportunities to succeed in the workplace and to receive the benefits they are entitled to."

According to the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), compatibility or accessibility issues may arise when employees attempt to use screen reader technology with an employer's proprietary software. JAN noted that computer technicians familiar with screen readers may be able to write scripts that enable the software to communicate with the screen reader. Employers may also consider contacting the software manufacturer to ask whether similar issues have been encountered in the past, or whether the manufacturer already has such scripts available.

The EEOC has filed similar lawsuits on behalf of visually impaired plaintiffs who requested screen readers as reasonable accommodations. Last year, an employer in Florida agreed to pay $250,000 to settle such allegations, with the EEOC claiming the company failed to take reasonable steps to accommodate a blind employee hired for a customer service role.