PORTLAND (AP) — Federal watchdogs are suing Portland-based Viewpoint Construction Software and its recruiting firm CampusPoint Corp., alleging they refused to hire a job applicant who is deaf.
Viewpoint makes software that construction firms use to plan and manage large projects. It sold to California company Trimble for $1.2 billion in 2018 but continues to operate under the Viewpoint name, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges a man named Indigo Matthew applied to work as a Viewpoint product and pricing analyst in 2018. Matthew has substantial hearing loss but passed an initial screening from both companies, according to the lawsuit.
While one interview was done with help from a video relay service, and Matthew said he can read lips in individual meetings, the lawsuit says he requested an American Sign Language interpreter for his group interview.
According to the EEOC, Viewpoint and CampusPoint refused to pay for that and “erroneously assumed that Matthew would need a fulltime interpreter if he was hired for the analyst position.”
