Supplemental materials for LEAP 2025 session Surviving the Expanding Landscape of Reasonable Accommodations
Supervisors must juggle conflicting responsibilities. They’re required to manage schedules and ensure their departments are adequately staffed. They’re also often the first point of contact for workers with disabilities that could affect attendance. Those competing needs may mean that even well-intentioned supervisors mishandle ADA accommodations.
That’s why it’s important to train supervisors that they must honor approved disability accommodations and immediately refer all requests to modify accommodations to HR.
Recent case: Sandra was a full-time customer service manager at a Walmart store in Pennsylvania. She has been diagnosed with both depression and fibromyalgia, conditions for which she sometimes took FMLA leave.
Walmart agreed to accommodate her fibromyalgia by providing her with a seat when she had to work at a desk or counter. But Sandra claims she didn’t always have access to those accommodations. She would later allege that her supervisor often told her, “There’s nothing wrong with you” and accused Sandra of “faking” her conditions. She said she once sent a text to the supervisor saying she needed to go home to rest, only to receive a reply that simply said, “Don’t start with me.”
Sandra was fired, allegedly for misusing coupons meant for customers. She sued, claiming she was really terminated in retaliation for requesting accommodations. Her lawsuit cited the supervisor’s antagonistic approach to her accommodation requests.
The court said her case could go to trial, including her request for punitive damages for the supervisor’s refusal to honor Sandra’s approved accommodations. (Lugo v. Walmart, ED PA)
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