EEOC lawsuits against Walmart mount amid allegations they violated Americans with Disabilities Act

Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, employers have been required to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled job applicants and employees. However, in 2022 alone, there were 25,004 alleged ADA violations.

In the last few weeks, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed two lawsuits alleging ADA violations against the nation’s largest private employer, Walmart. The first lawsuit alleged that a Kansas store that hired two deaf employees failed to provide accommodations including ASL interpreters during training and written communication from management, causing both employees to quit.

“These accommodations are not only required by law, but they are good for businesses, our communities, and our economy,” Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney at the EEOC St Louis District, said in a statement.

The following week, a second lawsuit alleged that two disabled employees were fired from an Arkansas store because they failed a “knowledge assessment” test unrelated to their jobs, Reuters reported. One employee is deaf, and the other has cognitive disabilities. A Walmart spokesman claimed the testing program was discontinued years ago.

Walmart is no stranger to ADA complaints. Over the last 15 months, the EEOC has filed several other lawsuits against Walmart for ADA violations. And in 2021, the company was ordered to pay $125 million to a former employee with Down syndrome, who was fired in 2015 because of her disability. (That judgment was later reduced to $300,000.)

“We have been a top employer for those with disabilities for years. We don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind and take allegations like these seriously. We are reviewing the complaints and will respond in court as appropriate,” Randy Hargrove, senior director of national media relations at Walmart, told HR Brew in an email.