Federal Agency (EEOC) Charges Retailer Sam’s Club With Firing Employee After Refusing to Accommodate Her Disabilities.
ATLANTA, GA (STL.News) Sam’s East, Inc. and Walmart Inc., which together operate a chain of warehouse club retail stores known as Sam’s Club, violated federal law when they refused to reasonably accommodate an employee’s disabilities and later fired her because of her disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed on January 17, 2025.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the longtime Sam’s Club employee sought to return to her associate position at its Douglasville, Georgia, store in June 2022 following a medical leave of absence after an automobile accident. The accident left her with post-concussion syndrome, upper back pain, muscle spasms, and chronic lower back pain. The employee sought minor, temporary adjustments to her duties as a reasonable accommodation for her disabilities.
Shortly after returning to work and successfully performing one shift, the employee was informed by her supervisor that she could not work with restrictions and would instead need to take another leave of absence until she could work without any restrictions. As instructed, the employee sought additional leave, providing Sam’s Club with a date by which she would be capable of working without restriction. am’s Club then denied the employee’s requested leave and fired her. The store’s general manager told her Sam’s Club would not accommodate her injuries because they occurred outside of work.
Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Sam’s East, Inc. and Walmart Inc., Case No. 1:25-CV-0222) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“The ADA mandates the reasonable accommodation of disabilities, regardless of their cause,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. Sam’s Club had a duty to attempt to accommodate the employee’s disabilities when she sought to return to work with minimal restrictions, but it violated its duty when it declined to do so because of the source of her underlying injuries.”
Darrell Graham, district director of the Atlanta office, said, “Employees with disabilities have a right to work. The EEOC is committed to enforcing the ADA and ensuring that Americans with disabilities have equal access to employment.”
