JURY AWARDS OVER $125 MILLION IN EEOC DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CASE AGAINST WALMART
From the EEOC’s office this morning, a disabled worker just won a massive jury verdict in a case against Wal-Mart. The verdict was in a disability discrimination lawsuit, filed by an employee living with Down Syndrome who alleged that the company refused to agree to her request to maintain the regular work schedule. She had held the schedule for many years, but despite her request the company refused to accommodate her disability, terminated her, and refused to re-hire her when she re-applied to a similar, available position.
After what appears to be a two-day trial and four hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict awarding $150,000 in compensatory damages (“compensatory” meaning that the amount is designed to literally compensate the victim for losses resulting from the illegal, discriminatory conduct), and then a massive $125 MILLION in punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to deter the employer from future wrongdoing.
Foundry Legal supports and represents workers who have faced illegal discrimination on account of a disability. Many state laws and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit this sort of discrimination and bar employers from taking negative employment actions against those living with disabilities except in limited circumstances. These cases are difficult to prove and, unfortunately, many violations go without redress.
The EEOC presented evidence that a change Walmart made to [the employee’s] longstanding work schedule caused her significant difficulty. When she requested her start and end times be adjusted by 60 to 90 minutes and to be returned to her prior schedule, Walmart failed to act on the request and instead fired her.
EEOC Press Release (link in article)
Punitive damages awards are subject to statutory caps, and the judge presiding over this case is likely to receive a request from Wal-Mart to reduce the punitive award to a level within the statutory maximum.
Congratulations to the EEOC on this tremendous victory. Read below or from the EEOC site directly for the press release from the EEOC.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEEOC/bulletins/2e86ca7
Retailer Fired Woman with Down Syndrome
CHICAGO – An eight-member jury in Green Bay, Wisconsin returned a verdict of $125,150,000 in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on three claims of disability discrimination against Walmart, the federal agency announced today.
The jury found that the retailer failed to accommodate Marlo Spaeth, a longtime employee with Down syndrome, and then fired her in July 2015 because of her disability.
The EEOC presented evidence that a change Walmart made to Spaeth’s longstanding work schedule caused her significant difficulty. When she requested her start and end times be adjusted by 60 to 90 minutes and to be returned to her prior schedule, Walmart failed to act on the request and instead fired her.
