He had worked for Wal-Mart for 18 years, but when his job performance started to waiver, the store terminated a man with disabilities. However, there were a few details in this case that set off red flags at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). And those concerns took Wal-Mart to federal court.
Wal-Mart has to Pay a $90,000 Disability Settlement
The man who was fired was diagnosed with an intellectual disability back when he was a child. When he began working at Wal-Mart, he was given a checklist of daily tasks as an accommodation for his disability. But not long before his dismissal, the store stopped giving this man the list of daily tasks he needed. His job performance soon suffered.
Wal-Mart used this employee’s struggle as an excuse to fire him. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. This is why the EEOC took Wal-Mart to court, and this is why the company struck a deal with the EEOC.
Wal-Mart will conduct special ADA training at the store that denied this employee the accommodation he needed. The extra training will be part of a two-year initiative, and the store will pay the former employee $90,000 as part of the deal.
Maintaining a job is an important part of living an independent life, especially for a person with disabilities. However, sometimes a disability can stand in the way of that goal. When that happens, Americans with disabilities still have options. They can turn to Social Security Disability insurance or Supplemental Security income to maintain their independence.
To find out more about living an independent life despite disabilities, keep following your Tulsa disability attorneys on this blog. And please share your ideas and stories about living with disabilities on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
