Walmart Accused Of Denying Job Coach To Employee With Intellectual Disability

The nation’s largest retailer is facing legal action after supervisors allegedly harassed employees with intellectual disabilities and were unwilling to accommodate a job coach.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that Walmart violated the Americans with Disabilities Act with its treatment of two employees with intellectual disabilities at a location in Mount Pleasant, Wis.

Supervisors at the store allegedly called the employees, who worked as cart pushers, “stupid” and “slow.” One of the employees said that a supervisor called him a “retard” and closed a door on him, sending him home early, according to the suit filed recently in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

That employee ultimately quit after learning that the store manager would not do anything about the situation, the EEOC said.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that Walmart store managers and human resources representatives would not allow job coaches for one of the employees with intellectual disabilities to enter the store and would not discuss the employee’s schedule, need for training or breaks as well as the harassment with them. This was the case even though Walmart was not expected to pay for the job coaches, the EEOC said.

“Employers have a legal obligation to work with employees who need accommodations for disabilities and to stop and prevent disability-based harassment,” said Victor Chen, an EEOC spokesperson. “Individuals with disabilities, like all workers, deserve respect and have a right to earn a living without being subjected to discriminatory harassment in the workplace.”

The EEOC said that it tried to reach a settlement with Walmart before opting to sue.

“We don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind and will continue to defend the company against this litigation,” Walmart said in a statement.