Dive Brief:
- Buc-ee’s failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for a worker with a disability and then unlawfully terminated him because of that disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
- A cashier associate at a Buc-ee’s location in Texas requested accommodations that would allow him to continue to work with myasthenia gravis, a chronic neuromuscular condition that can limit the ability to stand and breathe, and cause related complications, per the complaint. The travel center retailer denied in part the request, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC said.
- A spokesperson said Buc-ee’s does not comment on pending litigation filed against the company.
Dive Insight:
“All too often, employers run afoul of their duty under federal law to provide reasonable accommodations because of inflexible thinking, unwarranted assumptions, and failure to seek technical assistance that is available, often at little or no cost,” Ronald Phillips, acting regional attorney for the EEOC in Dallas, said in a statement.
“Compliance with disability law begins with having the right mindset — a genuine desire to help your workers, listening to their concerns, and being open to new ideas and technical assistance are keys to avoiding liability,” Phillips said.
The company’s “unlawful employment practices … were done with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally protected rights” of the worker, EEOC alleged.
The ADA prohibits discrimination because of a disability and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the business.
In his request, the cashier associate asked, under his doctor’s guidance, to be permitted to work four-hour shifts, to not lift more than 20 pounds, to sit while at the register and to not be required to stand for more than 15 minutes at a time without available seating to regain his stamina, per court documents.
Buc-ee’s allegedly denied the requests that the worker be able to sit at the register and not have to stand for more than 15 minutes. Instead, the company said it would allow the worker to divvy up his 20-minute break into shorter breaks as needed, per the complaint.
As a result, the worker was unable to return from medical leave and was terminated, EEOC said.
The “defendant contemporaneously documented that it discharged [the worker] because he was unable to return to work from his leave of absence but that he was eligible for rehire,” per the complaint.
“Employers must understand that disability accommodations are not optional suggestions; they are legal obligations,” EEOC San Antonio Field Office Director Norma Guzman said in a statement. “When employees come forward asking for support that allows them to do their jobs, employers must act diligently and in good faith.”
