William Clark, an intellectually challenged individual, was employed at Wal-Mart for eighteen years. As part of his accommodation as a disabled employee, Clark was given daily written assignments throughout his employment with the retailer. With this accommodation, Clark was able to successfully perform his job duties, meeting company expectations on a consistent basis.
For reasons that are not known at this time, Wal-Mart rescinded the accommodation given to Clark. As a result, Clark was disciplined for poor job performance and eventually his employment with the store was terminated.
As detailed in this article, the EEOC has filed suit against Wal-Mart for disability discrimination. EEOC regional attorney John Hendrickson stated, “The EEOC’s position in this case is that Wal-Mart just took away – with no good reason – an effective workplace accommodation of an intellectually disabled employee. That reversal fatally compromised the employee’s ability to continue doing a job he had done so well for many, many years, and ended up with him being fired.”
“We intend to show that the company’s action was a particularly senseless violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act – and especially hurtful injustice – that Mr. Clark is entitled to whole relief and to punitive damages, and that the public interest requires strong injunctive measures to correct Wal-Mart’s practices,” Hendrickson stated.
If you or someone you know thinks they have been discriminated against due to a disability, the team at Radford & Keebaugh can help. Contact us by phone at (678) 369-3609 or use our contact form.