Walmart to Pay $175,000 to Settle Three EEOC Disability Discrimination Suits

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, will pay $175,000 and furnish other relief to settle disability discrimination lawsuits brought by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against three Walmart retail stores located in Statesville, Henderson, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Today the EEOC announced the resolution of three lawsuits filed to correct the unlawful practice of failing to provide intermittent leave as a reasonable accommodation:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case No. 5:23-cv-00044 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, on several occasions from November 2016 through April 2017, Walmart refused to provide reasonable accommodations to a deli associate suffering from symptoms related to a gastrointestinal impairment. The associate requested intermittent or excused leave for disability-related absences. Although Walmart excused some disability-related absences, it did not excuse others, including several for disability-related medical appointments and hospitalization. The associate, who had worked for Walmart since February 2014, was fired in April 2017 for violating the company attendance policy even though she had provided doctor's notes. Walmart agreed to pay $85,000 to the affected employee and provide other relief to resolve this lawsuit.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case No. 5:23-cv-00218 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Walmart refused to accommodate a shelf stocker's disability by failing to excuse absences related to her epileptic seizures. Although the supervisor said she would excuse seizure-related absences if she was notified that the absence was related to the employee's seizure disorder, Walmart did not excuse the absences, and, as a result, the employee was fired for violating the company attendance policy. Walmart agreed to pay $50,000 to the affected employee and provide other relief to resolve this lawsuit.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case No. 5:23-cv-00160 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The EEOC's lawsuit alleged that Walmart refused to provide a reasonable accommodation to a general merchandise support manager with generalized convulsive epilepsy. The manager began experiencing seizures requiring medical treatment, which caused him to be late for his shift and occasionally to miss work. In July 2017, the manager requested intermittent leave as a reasonable accommodation. Walmart denied the manager's request and demoted him to a deli associate position because of his disability-related absences. Walmart then fired him for violating the company's attendance policy. Walmart agreed to pay $40,000 to the affected employee and provide other relief to resolve this lawsuit.

In addition to the monetary relief provided for each of the affected employees, the resolutions prohibit Walmart from failing to offer intermittent leave as a reasonable accommodation; failing to consider an employee's request for leave for disability-related medical appointments, treatment, recovery from treatment, or incapacity as a request for reasonable accommodation; failing to provide a mechanism for requesting a reasonable accommodation under the ADA; failing to allow for an interactive process when a request for reasonable accommodation has been made; failing to provide an avenue for reconsideration of the denial of a request for accommodation; and from assessing attendance points for disability-related absences under certain situations. Wal-Mart will also be required to conduct annual trainings, post a notice of employee rights, and submit compliance reports to the EEOC.

The conduct alleged above violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities unless it causes an undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit in these matters after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

Supervisory Trial Attorney Zoe Mahood said, "Enforcement of the ADA is of paramount importance to the EEOC, particularly in situations where it is necessary to ensure that workers with disabilities can continue to be employed despite having chronic medical conditions."

"As these cases highlight, excused, intermittent leave is often the only accommodation that will enable an employee with a disability to continue to perform the essential functions of the job," said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the Charlotte District. "Employers should always be willing to consider policy adjustments as reasonable accommodations under the ADA."

Charlotte District Director Betsy Rader said, "The comprehensive remedies provided by these decrees will ensure that Walmart's employees with disabilities are able to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment that employees without disabilities enjoy."

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination.

The EEOC's Charlotte District Office has jurisdiction over North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.

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