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2 Real-Life Examples of Workplace Disability Discrimination

December 21, 2021 Legal Team

Workplace disability discrimination in any form is unacceptable. Among other regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects workers in the United States from being discriminated against at work.

To better understand what can constitute workplace disability discrimination, we’ve put together two examples of real-life instances in which workers were discriminated against based on their disabilities.

#1 – The Starbucks case.

In 2016, “A woman with dyslexia has won a disability discrimination case against her employer Starbucks after she was accused of falsifying documents,” according to the BBC.

Dyslexia causes challenges with reading, writing, and telling the time, which were all issues that the Starbucks employee faced. The worker hadn’t falsified records as the company suggested, she simply made a mistake as a result of her condition, and Starbucks decided to fire her for it.

#2 – The Walmart case.

An employee with Down Syndrome had been with the company for many years before being terminated for issues with attendance. As a result of her condition, she was only able to work a regular schedule of 12:00 to 4:00 pm three or four times a week. This is because her ailment requires her to sustain a strict daily schedule, including eating food at specified times throughout the day.

Out of the blue, Walmart decided to implement a digitized scheduling system. This new system switched the employee’s hours. She explained repeatedly that she wouldn’t be able to work the new schedule because it wouldn’t cooperate with her strict day-to-day schedule.

Walmart refused to reinstate her former schedule, which resulted in attendance issues for the worker, ultimately leading to her termination. Her firing was unfair not only because the company refused to cooperate with her medical schedule, but also because the store was open 24 hours a day and had over 300 employees, which means they would have had no trouble accommodating her needs.

If You’ve Faced Workplace Discrimination, We Want to Help

Facing workplace discrimination is very serious and should be treated as such. Don’t hesitate to reach out right away with your questions—we’re here to help.

Contact our team of skilled attorneys today with the details of your employment law case by calling Aegis Law Firm at (949) 379-6250 or by filling out the online contact form.