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Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that Walmart violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it subjected employees nationwide to unlawful testing, the agency said.
- Walmart worked with a third party in 2015 to create a Pathways Training Program that included a test called the Pathways Graduation Assessment. The company allegedly fired employees with disabilities who failed the test after three attempts even though they were meeting expectations in their jobs and the test was not related to their job duties or performance, EEOC said.
- “Employees with disabilities face far too many obstacles in life, and the workplace should not be one of those obstacles,” said Edmond Sims, acting district director of the EEOC’s Memphis district office, which oversees Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Mississippi. “Employees with disabilities who are successfully performing their jobs should be commended, not terminated.”
Dive Insight:
Under the ADA, employers can’t discriminate against workers with disabilities on any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job duties and training.
The lawsuit is the second EEOC filed in less than a week alleging Walmart violated the ADA in its practices. The first, filed Sept. 8, claimed Walmart refused to provide American Sign Language interpreters to two deaf employees, which led to employees missing out on critical information at work and receiving disciplinary action, EEOC said.
EEOC also filed a lawsuit against Walmart in March alleging the company violated the ADA when it refused to accommodate and then fired a manager with epilepsy who had to miss work because of seizures.
