Jack in the Box restaurants across the country will no longer reject deaf applicants. The chain dropped a nationwide policy that discriminated against hiring deaf employees after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a deaf Texas teenager. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Jack in the Box last May after Alfonso Cruz was rejected for a cooking position because he was deaf and could not speak. The agency says the policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The hiring manager for Jack in the Box said the food-making system was too complex for someone who couldn't hear, but three weeks after being denied the job, Cruz proved he could handle the position by landing a job at a McDonald's.