Cummins Confidential Special : Cummins’ Disability Inclusion Farce – Awards Bought, Lives Broken

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In a world where corporations slap shiny badges on their chests like some kind of virtue armour, Cummins Inc. stands out as a prime example of hypocrisy on steroids. They’ve been parading around with their “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” award for years now, scoring a perfect 100 on the Disability Equality Index from Disability:IN. It’s the fifth bloody year in a row, as of 2025, where they’ve high-fived themselves for being oh-so-inclusive. But peel back that glossy layer, and what do you find? A steaming pile of discrimination lawsuits, tribunal defeats, and tactics that would make a street hustler blush. This isn’t inclusion – it’s a pay-to-play scam dressed up in corporate press releases, and it’s time someone called it out for the sham it is.

I’ve dug through the dirt, and it stinks. Cummins, this global engine giant, loves to tout their commitment to people with disabilities. They roll out training modules, employee guides, and even splash it across their website like confetti at a parade. But when the rubber hits the road – when actual employees with disabilities need support – the company turns into a machine of denial, deflection, and outright dirty tricks. And that award? It’s not earned through real change; it’s bought through partnerships and sponsorships with Disability:IN, where only paying members get to play in the awards sandbox. It’s reputational insurance, nothing more – a shield to hide behind while they screw over the very people they claim to champion.

The Pay-to-Play Award Machine

Disability:IN positions itself as this noble force for change, benchmarking companies on their disability policies. Sounds great on paper, right? But here’s the gritty truth: the whole setup reeks of commercial incentive. Companies like Cummins fork over cash for partnerships, fill out self-reported questionnaires, and voila – top scores and awards follow. No independent nominations from actual disabled employees, no deep dives into real workplace experiences. Just paperwork and payments. As one critique puts it, the index shows “progress at the policy level while leaving day-to-day failures invisible.” Badges for press releases, but fuck all for the folks on the ground.Cummins laps this up. They’ve been named a top-scoring company since at least 2020, using it in annual reports, HR pitches, and even LinkedIn boasts. They highlight their diversity groups across Europe, covering gender, multicultural, disability inclusion – the works. But after swallowing a $2 billion fine without flinching, it’s clear they’ve got the pockets for this theatre. Meanwhile, critics – independent voices not on the payroll – point out the glaring mismatch: high scores against a backdrop of persistent problems and reporting gaps. It’s corporate virtue signalling at its finest, and it’s infuriating.

Now, juxtapose that with the reality. Multiple disability discrimination cases paint a picture of a company that “tidies up HR files to suit,” recreating – or let’s be real, fabricating – paperwork to benefit themselves. Their disabled employees aren’t working for champions; they’re fighting a system rigged against them. And that award? It’s absurdity on steroids, especially when you stack it against the lawsuits piling up like unpaid bills.

The Mental Health Meat Grinder: UK Cases That Expose the Rot

Over here in the UK, Cummins’ handling of mental health cases is a masterclass in how not to support your people – or rather, how to crush them under legal weight. Take Waqas Mohammed, a long-serving machinist who hit a wall with anxiety and depression back in 2016. He asked for a therapeutic break, something reasonable for anyone staring down the barrel of mental health hell. What did Cummins do? Slapped him with a disciplinary hearing and sacked him.

The Employment Tribunal saw through the crap, ruling discrimination arising from disability and unfair dismissal. They hit Cummins with nearly £30,000 in compensation, including £10,000 for injury to feelings. But did Cummins take the L and learn? Hell no. They appealed on procedural grounds, dragging Mohammed through the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT found the original tribunal’s explanation flawed on process – not the outcome – and sent it back for a rehearing, piling on more stress and delays for a guy already battling mental health issues. It’s weaponising the system, pure and simple – exhaust the claimant until they break.

Then there’s Lee Thompson, yes – me (writing about myself in third person), the bloke behind The Cummins Accountability Project, who faced an even uglier version of this playbook. As a disabled claimant, he got the full force of Cummins’ resources from day one, clearly gunning to avoid another Mohammed-style loss. At his tribunal, they rolled out an expensive Kings Counsel barrister, hauled in witnesses from across the country, and packed the courtroom to ratchet up his anxiety – a deliberate move to exploit his condition. Key local witnesses? MIA, unavailable for cross-examination. Instead, fabricated narratives painted Thompson as a “conduct risk,” despite him being off for six months due to health.

Thompson lost at the first tribunal, but he’s not done – he’s pushing to a 3(10) EAT pre-hearing to challenge what he calls a flawed victory built on underhand tactics. The pattern is clear: ignore reasonable adjustments, frame mental health as misconduct, and throw money at lawyers to bury the truth. Cummins defaults to combat, not compassion, when employees dare to raise mental health concerns. It’s outrageous – a company preaching wellbeing while turning tribunals into battlegrounds.

And this isn’t isolated. Even their business associates get embroiled in similar issues. KellyOCG, a recruitment partner, has its own history of disability discrimination skirmishes, aligning perfectly with Cummins’ pattern. It’s like the rot spreads through the supply chain.

Across the Pond: The US Cases That Pile on the Absurdity

Jump to the US, and the hypocrisy hits new lows. Back in 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Cummins Power Generation for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). They forced an employee to sign an overly broad medical release during a fitness-for-duty exam, demanding family medical history – shit that’s none of their business. When the guy objected, they fired him. The EEOC called it out, and Cummins settled for $87,500 plus policy changes and training.

This case, resolved in 2016, is fresh dirt for the Accountability Project, but it fits the pattern like a glove. Employers can’t dodge ADA and GINA responsibilities by blaming vendors – the buck stops with them. Yet here we are, years later, with Cummins still collecting inclusion awards while echoes of this bullshit linger.

It’s not the only US skeleton. And don’t forget the 2019 pay discrimination settlement for $77,500, monitored by the EEOC – another red flag on unequal treatment. These aren’t anomalies; they’re symptoms of a deeper disease.

The Bigger Picture: A Culture of Denial and Deception

What ties it all together? A company that invests in awards and optics over actual accountability. They fabricate paperwork, dodge witnesses, and lawyer up to exhaust claimants – all while scoring perfect on inclusion indices. It’s enraging. Disabled employees aren’t statistics for a benchmark; they’re people getting ground down by a system that prioritises profit over humanity.

Cummins talks a big game about equitable workplaces and supporting veterans and persons with disabilities. They even rolled out a Disability Fundamentals training to complement their guides. But when push comes to shove, it’s combat mode: appeals on technicalities, courtroom intimidation, and narratives that vilify the vulnerable. The absurdity peaks with that award – a “Best Place” badge slapped on a house of cards built on discrimination.

This isn’t just bad HR; it’s a betrayal. Companies like Cummins need to be dragged into the light, not handed more trophies (not matter how much they pay for them). Until they match their actions to their accolades, it’s all smoke and mirrors – and the real victims are left picking up the pieces.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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