CHARLESTON — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against Wrightway Ready-Mix and Wright Concrete & Construction, alleging the companies engaged in unlawful employment practices by denying jobs to applicants based on disability, including individuals using medications such as methadone as part of treatment for opioid-use disorder.
The EEOC alleges the defendants violated Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying employment to John Moore, the charging party, and to a class of similarly situated job applicants, according to a complaint filed last month in federal court.
The agency contends the companies maintained and enforced a policy that categorically refused to hire workers who use methadone, suboxone or other medications associated with medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and other substance-use disorders.
The EEOC alleges this policy functioned as an unlawful qualification standard that screened out individuals with disabilities and was applied without regard to whether applicants could safely perform the essential functions of the jobs for which they applied.
The complaint states that Moore applied for a general laborer position at Wrightway Ready-Mix’s Delbarton facility in February 2022.
Moore allegedly had multiple phone conversations with the company’s hiring manager before the interview and was instructed to bring any medications he was taking to the interview for purposes of a pre-employment drug test.
During the interview, Moore disclosed that he was taking methadone.
The EEOC alleges the hiring manager immediately told Moore he could not be hired due to company policy, without asking any questions about Moore’s medical treatment, potential side effects or his ability to safely perform the job.
Moore was later allegedly told by the company’s head of human resources that she also could not hire him because of the same policy.
The EEOC alleges that at no point did any representative of either defendant extend Moore a conditional or permanent offer of employment nor did they engage in any individualized assessment of his qualifications.
The complaint further alleges that the companies made unlawful pre-employment disability-related inquiries by asking applicants about prescription medication use before making job offers and then denied employment based on information obtained through those inquiries.
According to the EEOC, these actions deprived Moore and other applicants of equal employment opportunities and were carried out intentionally and with malice or reckless indifference to federally protected rights.
In addition to Moore’s individual claims, the lawsuit asserts class-based claims on behalf of unidentified job applicants who were allegedly denied employment for similar reasons from February 2022 to the present.
The EEOC contends the defendants’ hiring practices affected applicants with opioid addiction and other substance-use disorders, including those with records of such conditions or those perceived as having disabilities.
The agency alleges these practices resulted in systemic discrimination in violation of the ADA.
The complaint also details the relationship between Wrightway Ready-Mix and Wright Concrete, alleging the companies operate as a single employer under the ADA.
The EEOC asserts that the companies share common ownership, management, financial control and centralized labor relations, and that Wright Concrete created and imposed employment policies used by Wrightway Ready-Mix, including those related to hiring individuals using medication-assisted treatment.
The EEOC is seeking the court to permanently enjoin the defendants from engaging in disability-based discrimination, require them to implement lawful hiring policies and order compensation for Moore and affected applicants.
The requested relief includes back pay, front pay or instatement, compensatory damages for pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses and punitive damages. The agency is also seeking recovery of its litigation costs and has demanded a jury trial on all claims.
The EEOC is represented by Catherine L. Eschbach, Christopher Lage, Gwendolyn Young Reams, Debra M. Lawrence, Ronald L. Phillips, Gregory A. Murray, Lindsay C. Sfekas and Jason S. Bailey.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:25-cv-00711
