SKOWHEGAN, Maine — Walmart has settled a discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of a longtime cart associate at the Skowhegan Walmart who has intellectual disabilities.
The suit, filed in November 2020, was settled for an undisclosed amount. It was filed by the Maine Human Rights Commission and Disability Rights Maine after the commission found reasonable grounds to believe Walmart had discriminated against the man when it refused to allow him to work a modified schedule, an accommodation his medical provider said was necessary.
The man worked for 20 years as a cart associate at the Skowhegan Walmart, returning carts from the parking lot to the store and helping customers bring things in or take things out of the store, the complaint stated.
The man's disability "substantially limits him in major life activities" including communicating, learning, speaking, thinking, and reading, and so is qualified to have "reasonable accommodations" including a modified work schedule and working with a job coach.
In February 2019, the assistant manager at the Skowhegan Walmart told the man's mother that because the store had new software that creates schedules based on customer and sales traffic, it could no longer provide the man with the modified, set work schedule as it had for 18 years, court documents said.
The mother appealed the decision to management and provided medical documentation that working more than 3.5 hours a day "would be difficult and mentally exhausting for him."
The company denied the request, saying a set schedule "would impact the company's ability to perform the necessary level of services to our customers, adversely affect the schedule of other associates, and/or cause disruption in customer service scheduling."
The Maine Human Rights Commission voted in May 2020 to find there were reasonable grounds to believe discrimination had occurred.
Three months of subsequent attempted conciliation failed.
According to the complaint, a modified work schedule is specifically included in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Maine Human Rights Act as a reasonable accommodation.
The suit claimed unlawful employment practices by Walmart were intentional and done with malice and/or reckless indifference to the man's protected rights. It sought declaratory and injunctive relief and damages, claiming Walmart violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to provide reasonable accommodation to the man.
Complainants asked for a declaratory judgement that Walmart had violated the ADA and MHRA, for a permanent injunction preventing Walmart from doing so in the future; requiring Walmart to attend nondiscrimination training and to consider modified work schedules as a reasonable accommodation.
It also sought back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for "intentional, malicious, and/or reckless conduct."
The suit was settled Sept. 21, according to court documents.
Attorneys for the Maine Human Rights Commission and Disability Rights Maine declined to comment on the settlement.
Abby Williams-Bailey, a spokesperson for Walmart, told NEWS CENTER Maine that the terms of the settlement are confidential.
