Feds sue company over firing of Miami employee with cancer

A federal agency has sued IDEX Corp., a national manufacturer of air motors, industrial pumps and other fluidics systems, saying the company fired a Miami-based employee because he had cancer.

Gregorio Reyes, a Caribbean regional manager for IDEX, was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and fired the next year after his supervisors questioned his ability to do his job while undergoing chemotherapy treatments, according to a news release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC enforces federal laws against employment discrimination.

“A longtime employee who continues to successfully perform his or her job responsibilities should not be fired because he has been diagnosed with a medical condition such as cancer,” Robert Weisberg, regional attorney for the agency’s Miami office, said in a statement.

The company’s actions were a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Weisberg added. The agency is seeking injunctive relief against IDEX, as well as back pay and compensatory and punitive damages. Reyes has not found other employment since being fired.

The suit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

IDEX, which is based in Lake Forest, Illinois, did not respond to a request for comment.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Feds sue company over firing of Miami employee with cancer."