You Asked for Help, They Let You Go: The Reality of Employers Ignoring the ADA By: Michelle Zeman

Women with long brown hair wearing a yellow fluorescent safety vest scanning items on stockroom shelf

Imagine being employed by a large corporation as a person with a disability. Now imagine being told that your absences from work were excused because you needed time to recover from medical episodes. Now…next thing you know, you get fired from your place of employment. This is a harsh and unfortunate reality for those with disabilities.

In one case, a previous Walmart employee in Henderson, NC, had five seizures between January and May 2017. The Walmart location knew about her epilepsy diagnosis and was given doctor’s notes. The location promised her that each absence would be excused; however, they did not explain the reason for her absences. Instead, they fired her due to her attendance. 

Oh, you thought that was it? Walmart has done this in two other locations in North Carolina. 

One previous Walmart employee in Raleigh and Statesville, NC, fired an employee for attendance issues when she had to go to the emergency room as a result of her Crohn’s disease. Another Walmart employee was demoted and then fired because of his absences due to epilepsy. In both cases, management at each location was aware. 

These former employees were brave enough to file a lawsuit and were able to settle with Walmart. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that they were given the justice that they deserved. However, this begs the question: why did this happen in the first place? It is clear that Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) training was not conducted, because if it had been, Walmart would have known to provide each employee with a reasonable accommodation when notified of each person’s condition. 

What advice do I have regarding requesting accommodations?

● Early into your employment, make an explicit request to the people who need to know. This is crucial because if you need help later, your employer can’t provide support or protection under the ADA unless they are aware that you require an accommodation.

● Give information if asked. Your employer doesn’t need to know everything, but they might need to have some information so that they can best understand what types of accommodations you need. 

● Keep records. Keep text messages, emails, calendar invitations, recordings (if available), and phone call records. If you have verbal conversations, try to get an idea of the day and time those conversations took place, as well as the content of the conversation, and send a follow-up via email. This is especially the case if management tries to use anything against you. '


If you need additional information about reasonable accommodations, check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website. 



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