Even The Odds In Your Fight For Employee Rights
Photo of American flag for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labour Day

Walmart settles EEOC lawsuit

On Behalf of | Nov 20, 2019 | Workplace Disability Discrimination

Most employers in Florida and throughout the country are required to make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees. Walmart recently agreed to pay $80,000 and make other changes to its policies to settle a discrimination suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC. The lawsuit claimed that it failed to reassign a worker to a position at another store after she became disabled. Prior to her disability, she worked as a sales associate in Augusta, Maine.

Because of her disability, she would only be able to work as a greeter or as a fitting room attendant. There were available positions at stores in Waterville and Thomaston, but transferring the woman would have been against company policy. The policy stated that employees would only be transferred to different positions at the store where they currently worked. According to the complaint, the woman would have gone along with a request to transfer to another store.

However, since such an offer was never made, the woman stopped working for the company. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must make reasonable accommodations for their workers unless it creates an undue hardship. This is generally true regardless of what a company’s internal policies are. According to the EEOC, a lawsuit was filed only after a failed attempt to resolve the matter through conciliation.

Workers may benefit from receiving Boca Raton workplace disability discrimination law firm help. An attorney may be able to review a case to determine if any laws were broken and what recourse an individual may have. If an employment law claim is successful, an employee may receive compensation for back pay and other damages. Employment law cases might be resolved through mediation or arbitration, and private talks may be ordered prior to starting a formal trial.