Store buys another EEOC lawsuit for violating the ADA

As we previously reported, a Wal-Mart store in Statesville was sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on March 27 for an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) based on the termination of an employee with Crohn’s disease. (See “Statesville retailer pursued by the EEOC” in this issue.)

The EEOC alleged the store counted absences that were because of the disability against the employee and failed to accommodate the absences, resulting in termination. A few days later, on March 30, the agency filed a lawsuit with similar allegations against a Wal-Mart store in Raleigh.

Facts

Wal-Mart employee Calvin Hagan has generalized convulsive epilepsy. During the period from April 2017 to August 2018, his disability caused seizures of such severity, duration, and frequency that he was unable to work for limited intermittent periods and required medical treatment on multiple occasions.

When Hagan began experiencing seizures, he would lose consciousness, bite his tongue, and release his bowels. After a seizure, he would wake up feeling confused and disoriented, and it often took between 45 minutes and 24 hours for him to recover completely. On several occasions, the physical symptoms required him to seek emergency medical treatment.

The EEOC alleged Hagan communicated with superiors each time he needed to be excused from work because of his disability.

Request for accommodation