In early 2009, charging party Derrick Morgan, 29, a manager at a McDonald’s restaurant franchise in Oakhurst who had an intellectual disability, was demoted to a non-managerial position, which had reduced hours and hourly wages. As a result, Morgan claimed that he was forced to resign in the summer of 2009. In October 2009, Morgan filed a charge with the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming he was forced to leave his job at a McDonald’s restaurant because of his disability. The EEOC filed a suit on behalf of Morgan against the franchise’s owner, Alia Corp., asserting a claim of disability discrimination. The EEOC claimed that previous management promoted Morgan, who has an intellectual disability, from crew member to supervisor in 2008, but that once Alia Corp. took over after it purchased the restaurant in January 2009, the new management demoted Morgan to a janitorial position, cut his hours and reduced his hourly wages. The EEOC further claimed that the actions of Alia Corp. forced Morgan to find other employment and resign in the summer of 2009. Thus, it claimed that Alia Corp. engaged in disability discrimination. Alia Corp. denied Morgan had been subjected to disability discrimination. It claimed that prior to 2009, the Oakhurst McDonald’s had been struggling and that its goal in purchasing the restaurant was to improve the restaurant’s performance. Alia Corp. also claimed that this effort included the ongoing evaluation of the employees hired by the previous owners and retained by Alia Corp., which included Morgan, to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and place them in roles within the restaurant that would afford them opportunities for success. The company asserted that after evaluating Morgan’s performance over the span of two months, it determined that he was not suited for the managerial role he had held with the previous owner, and reassigned him to a non-managerial position. It claimed that several weeks after the reassignment, Morgan took a second job at a local grocery store and in July 2009, left Alia Corp. to pursue full-time employment there. Alia Corp. further claimed that Morgan informed them he would be willing to pick up shifts on an “on-call” basis, should the need arise, but that after it did not hear from Morgan for 30 days, it assumed he would not be returning to the restaurant and his file was closed. Thus, Alia Corp. maintained that Morgan’s reassignment to a non-managerial role was based on legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons unrelated to any alleged disability., The EEOC, on behalf of Morgan, sought recovery of back pay, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. Counsel for Alia Corp. contended that Morgan’s damages, if any, were minimal.