It’s not always easy to tell how far you have to go to accommodate a disabled employee. But perhaps a company that makes its living helping the disabled should have known better than this.
The Scooter Store, “America’s leading supplier of power mobility solutions” such as wheelchairs, has settled a disability bias claim with — who else? — a disabled former employee.
Mobility manager James Sherman claimed that the company failed to grant his request for a reasonable accommodation when he needed to take a temporary leave of absence due to psoriatic arthritis.
Sherman claimed that not only did the company not attempt to accommodate him, but it also then fired him.
Opted to settle
Sherman went to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed a disability lawsuit on his behalf against The Scooter Store.
The company decided to settle for $99,000. In addition, The Scooter Store will:
- modify its leave policy to comply with the ADA, and
- train staff on anti-discrimination law.
