Wal-Mart is having a deja vu. Once again the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunties Commission has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, accusing the giant retailer of refusing to hire a job applicant who happens to have cerebral palsy. This is the company that spends millions of advertising dollars each year promoting itself as a compassionate company that cares for the disabled, and gives money to help crippled children, etc. The Associated Press reports that the EEOC lawsuit, which was filed last week, claims that Wal-Mart violated the 1991 Americans With Disabilities Act, when it refused to hire Steve Bradley, Jr. The lawsuit claims that Bradley applied for a job in Richmond, Missouri, which is 40 miles from Kansas City. Bradley, who has CP, must use crutches and a wheelchair to get around. The EEOC has filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. The federal agency, which represents individuals who allege they have been discriminated against, asks the court to require Wal-Mart to pay Bradley lost wages and benefits, compensatory and punitive damages and give him a job.
What Bradley may not realize is that he may be better off finding some other place to work. Half of Wal-Mart’s worforce quits every year. The company is not listed on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work”, and is currently facing lawsuits for sexual discrimination, forced overtime, and a variety of other employee lawsuits. For more examples of similar cases against the deaf and other disabled workers, search this database by “disabled” or “EEOC.”
