Wal-Mart Ordered to Pay $7.5 Million in Damages for Discrimination against Disabled Man
February 24, 2005
Wal-Mart was ordered by a federal jury to pay $7.5 million in damages for discriminating against a disabled man employed at the company’s store in Centereach, New York. Patrick Brady, a 21-year old who has cerebral palsy, was awarded $5 million in punitive damages and $2.5 million in compensatory damages yesterday in court.
Brady was hired to work in the pharmacy department at Wal-Mart, but quit soon after when he was reassigned to responsibilities that included collecting garbage and shopping carts from the parking lot.
“I hope that Wal-Mart now understands that they can’t get away with treating people with disabilities like second-class citizens,” Brady said.
In his lawsuit, he stated that Wal-Mart discriminated against him because of his disability and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act with a “hostile work environment.” The lawsuit also included that Wal-Mart ignored the requirements of a nationwide consent decree it signed as part of a $6.8 million settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2001 that closed more than a dozen similar cases across the country.
In the 2001 consent decree, Wal-Mart agreed to provide sensitivity training to its employees and promised not to question applicants about their capacity to do a job with or without “reasonable accommodation,”—which would reveal if they have a disability and could lead to exclusion from employment.
To read the full New York Times article, click here.
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