The Carlstar Group to Pay $300,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

ST. LOUIS - The Carlstar Group, LLC, a Franklin, Tennessee-based manufacturer of specialty tires and wheels, will pay $300,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC's suit, since at least January 2020, Carlstar denied opportunities to manufacturing employees in Tennessee and South Carolina when the company learned they were lawfully taking certain prescription medications, including narcotics and opioids, for the treatment of disabilities, even after the employees were medically cleared to perform their job duties. The suit also alleged that Carlstar failed to consider or provide the workers with reasonable accommodations to the company's drug testing and substance abuse policy which would enable employees to work while lawfully using their prescribed medications.

"Federal law provides protections for disabled employees who lawfully take prescription medication for qualifying disabilities," said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC's St. Louis District Office. "Employers must follow the law, train their supervisors, and ensure they provide required accommodations to employees who take such medications and can perform the essential functions of their jobs."

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination in employment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. The Carlstar Group, LLC, Case No. 3:25-cv-00575EJR) in May 2025 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

David S. Davis, district director of the EEOC's St. Louis District Office, said, "Compliance with the ADA requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. Employers must individually assess such employees to determine whether they can safely perform their job duties while taking the medication."

In addition to the required monetary relief, the five-year consent decree settling the suit obligates Carlstar to adopt strong policies and procedures for the provision of reasonable accommodations for employees who take prescription medication, and train supervisors and other employees. The decree also requires Carlstar to track and maintain all requests for disability accommodations related to prescription medication, post a notice to employees about their federal right to be free from disability discrimination, and report periodically to the EEOC.

For more information about disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination .

The EEOC's St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and a portion of southern Illinois, with area offices in Kansas City, Kansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .