DULUTH, Minn. - Minnesota-based Lake States Lumber has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

According to the suit, a Lake States employee went on leave for heart surgery. After surgery, his doctors permitted him to return to work with no restrictions.

But upon his return, company management assigned him a different job. The EEOC says this was because management perceived him as being disabled. He was then fired 9 days later.

“It is an unfortunate reality that even when an employee who has been on disability leave is able to return to work without any restriction at all, many employers continue to regard that employee as unable to work in the same capacity as prior to the leave,” said Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District.