Walmart has reached a settlement agreement with a disabled employee, agreeing to pay $70,000 and offer the worker a job after allegations surfaced that the employee was denied the use of an electric cart in the store and placed on indefinite unpaid leave for three years. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced this resolution in a recent press release.
Initially, the South Carolina-based Walmart store permitted the employee to utilize the electric cart as a reasonable accommodation. However, after seven months and the arrival of a new HR representative, this accommodation was reportedly revoked. The new representative stated that the carts were strictly for customer use and instructed the worker to file a formal accommodation request. Subsequently, the employee was informed that he could not fulfill essential job functions and was placed on unpaid leave.
As part of the consent decree, in addition to the financial settlement and job offer, the South Carolina Walmart store is prohibited from denying reasonable accommodations to employees with walking and standing disabilities. Furthermore, they are barred from removing existing accommodations without finding suitable alternatives. The store is also mandated to conduct annual training sessions for managers and HR personnel on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Employers are reminded that while accommodations may not be permanent, they must engage in an interactive process with the employee to explore alternative solutions before revoking them. This obligation was emphasized by Lisa Mathess, an ADA specialist associated with the Job Accommodation Network.
The issue of accommodation revocation has gained prominence, particularly concerning the return of employees to physical office spaces. Last May, the EEOC clarified that employers cannot automatically rescind COVID-19-related accommodations following the federal government’s decision to end the pandemic’s “public health emergency” status. The EEOC’s guidance included examples such as noise-canceling headphones, alternative lighting, uninterrupted work time, and telework to address disabilities like fatigue resulting from long COVID.
Employers should also be mindful of potential lawsuits related to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety when mandating employees to return to the office, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Experts stress the importance of the interactive process in addressing reasonable accommodations and understanding the threshold for demonstrating undue hardship under the ADA.