U.S. sues Walmart for firing deli worker with Crohn’s disease
Walmart Inc has been sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which on Tuesday accused the biggest U.S. retailer of illegally firing a North Carolina deli employee with Crohn’s illness.
The EEOC mentioned Walmart violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by dismissing Adrian Tucker in April 2017 as a result of her 9 “unauthorized” absences within the prior six months, together with a hospitalization and a go to to the emergency room, violated its “attendance and punctuality policy.”
According to a criticism filed within the Charlotte, North Carolina federal courtroom, Walmart didn’t excuse a number of absences although Tucker supplied physician’s notes, and rejected her requests for periodic go away or a switch to a job nearer the toilet.
Crohn’s illness is an power bowel illness that causes irritation within the digestive tract, and might result in diarrhea, belly ache, fatigue and weight reduction.
Before being fired, Tucker labored for 3 years at a Walmart in Statesville, North Carolina, the place she served prospects, ready meals, cleaned, washed dishes, and lifted packing containers of hen that weighed as much as 50 kilos (23 kg).
Tucker was a long-term worker who wanted “flexibility” from Walmart due to her debilitating well being situation, EEOC lawyer Melinda Dugas mentioned in an announcement. “The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to protect employees like.”
Walmart, based mostly in Bentonville, Arkansas, mentioned it was reviewing the criticism.
“We have been a top employer for those with disabilities for years and have thousands of associates who perform their jobs with reasonable accommodation,” it mentioned. “We don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind and take allegations like this seriously.”
The lawsuit seeks again pay and punitive damages for Tucker, and an finish to comparable future discrimination.
The case is EEOC v Wal-Mart Stores East LP, U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina, No. 23-00181.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Editing by Aurora Ellis
