More Tarnish For Mitsubishi

You can add discriminatory hiring policies to the image problems of Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America. Less than three months after settling a sexual harassment lawsuit for a record $34 million, Mitsubishi has agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges that the Japanese company refused to hire 87 people at its Normal, Ill., plant in the U.S. because they had physical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, hearing impairment, or in one case, a history of back surgery. The people in question were given conditional job offers that were withdrawn if the pre-employment medical exam showed any physical restriction, says the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act requires that employers reasonably accommodate disabled workers who are otherwise qualified to do the job.