|
EEOC files discrimination suit in Alaska against Parker Drilling
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Parker Drilling, alleging the company discriminated against a vision-impaired job applicant.
The EEOC is an agency that enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit on Sept. 18 in Alaska federal court on behalf of Kevin McDowell. The suit alleges Parker has engaged in unlawful employment practices at its Anchorage facility since at least February 2010.
“Kevin McDowell is an individual with a disability. He is blind in his left eye,” the six-page lawsuit says.
Parker discriminated against McDowell when it failed to hire him for a toolpusher position because of his disability, the suit says. A toolpusher is also known as a drill site manager.
“Mr. McDowell is qualified for the position as he had previously performed all of the essential functions of similar jobs successfully and without any accommodation,” the suit says.
Application process Parker is an international drilling contractor based in Houston. Two Parker rigs are working in the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field on Alaska’s North Slope.
Despite his vision impairment, McDowell has worked for oil drilling companies from 1978 to the present, the EEOC lawsuit says.
He had worked for Parker Drilling from 1978 to 1982 in “a number of positions on the drill floor,” the suit says.
In January 2010, McDowell applied for a toolpusher position, and Parker interviewed him, the suit says.
The company “offered Mr. McDowell the position of a junior drill site manager and told him that he would later be promoted to a senior drill site manager,” the suit says.
Parker scheduled McDowell for a physical examination, which occurred on Jan. 25, 2010, and the company also instructed him to return later that week to start his training for the new position, the suit says.
“However, upon receiving Mr. McDowell’s physical examination results on approximately February 1, 2010, Defendant notified Mr. McDowell that it would not hire him for any position. Defendant made the decision not to hire Mr. McDowell on the basis of disability,” the suit alleges.
Back pay, damages sought The EEOC says Parker’s “unlawful employment practices ... were and are intentional.”
One popular online oil field glossary defines the job of toolpusher this way:
“The toolpusher is usually a senior, experienced individual who has worked his way up through the ranks of the drilling crew positions. His job is largely administrative, including ensuring that the rig has sufficient materials, spare parts and skilled personnel to continue efficient operations. The toolpusher also serves as a trusted adviser to many personnel on the rig site, including the operator’s representative, the company man.”
The EEOC is asking the court to grant a permanent injunction enjoining Parker from discriminating against applicants or employees with disabilities.
The agency also asks that McDowell be awarded back pay, compensation for losses and punitive damages in amounts to be determined at trial.
Parker Drilling had not yet answered the EEOC lawsuit as Petroleum News went to press.
—Wesley Loy
| 