AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Human Rights Commission on Monday found that Rainbow FCU discriminated against a disabled job applicant when it refused to consider her for a teller job last year.
Records show an executive vice president for Rainbow ended his interview with Denise Cyr, a member of the credit union who walked with crutches because of polio, after Cyr asked whether she could sit rather than stand as a teller.
In finding “reasonable grounds” to cite the Lewiston credit union, the panel found that Rainbow had “unlawfully discriminated against Ms. Cyr when it failed to hire her, made illegal inquiries regarding disabilities and refused to consider reasonable accommodations.”
Philippe Moreau, president of the $130 million credit union, would say only that it has no plans to appeal the ruling. “We can’t make a comment. It’s in the hands of our attorney and he told us not to make a comment,” Moreau told The Credit Union Journal.
Under the Commission’s procedures, representatives of the two sides must meet to negotiate a conciliation, according to a spokesman for the state panel.
Commission findings are not law, but may become grounds for lawsuits.
