St. Louis ? A gas station and convenience store in Montgomery City, Mo., is accused of discriminating against a former employee with Hepatitis C, firing her one day after she started the job as a cashier and cook, a federal lawsuit filed Thursday said.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Hoffmann Oil Co.’s dismissal of the employee violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

Reached by phone Thursday, owner Arthur Hoffmann said he didn’t want to comment until he could speak to his attorney.

The lawsuit said Hoffmann Oil fired the woman on March 5, 2003, one day after she started her job, when it learned she had Hepatitis C. The company recruited the woman after a supervisor observed her doing a good job at another convenience store.

The company was afraid she would spread the virus to customers and other employees, but the county health department advised that wouldn’t happen if she took normal precautions, EEOC said.