Walmart Settles EEOC Discrimination Suit For Failure To Accommodate Applicant During Hiring Process
Wal-Mart will be paying $72,500 and providing significant equitable relief to settle a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for failure to provide a reasonable accommodation to an individual during the hiring process.
The employee was offered a job as an evening sales associate at a Walmart store in Maryland, contingent on passing a drug test. The employee informed the assistant manager that she could not produce urine for the test because she has end-stage renal disease, but would be willing to take an alternate test. The drug testing facility informed the employee they could do other drug tests if the employer requested it, but Walmart management refused to order the alterative drug test. Instead, her application was closed for failure to take a urinalysis within 24 hours.
This isn’t the first time that this issue has come up. In fact, this is the fourth EEOC lawsuit alleging that an employer failed to provide a reasonable accommodation when they could have simply allowed the employee to take a blood test to screen for drug use.
Employers need to remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not take effect only after an employee has been hired. The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations during recruiting, application and hiring processes.
