EEOC Sues Walmart for Disability Discrimination

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, the largest operator of discount department stores in the country, violated federal law by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a deaf employee at a Fredericksburg Walmart, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, starting in September 2020, a deaf employee who worked as a stocker requested sign language interpreter services for daily staff meetings. These services were not and are still not provided. For a time, a supervisor gave him written notes after meetings, but the notes were not sufficient to convey all the relevant information and did not allow the employee to engage or actively participate in the meetings. The employee continued to request a reasonable accommodation throughout his employment, making the request multiple times to each of his supervisors.

In August 2023, the Virginia Department of Aging & Rehabilitation Services wrote to Walmart on the employee’s behalf and provided information about accessing video remote interpreter (VRI) services as an effective accommodation. Even after receiving the letter, Walmart did not provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation for his disability.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act exists to ensure that employees with disabilities, such as deaf employees, can fully participate in the workplace,” said Melinda Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District. “Providing access to a sign language interpreter is often a reasonable accommodation that can be provided by an employer without experiencing undue hardship.”

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires the accommodation of disabilities absent undue hardship, and requires that any accommodation provided be effective in meeting the needs of the individual employee in light of their disability. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, Case No. 3:26-cv-01037) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

For more information on disability discrimination and accommodations, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination and https://askjan.org/.

The EEOC’s Charlotte District Office has jurisdiction over North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.