Kwik Trip Inc. to Pay $35,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Charge

MILWAUKEE – Kwik Trip Inc., a family-owned gasoline station and convenience store with over 800 locations in the upper Midwest, agreed to resolve a discrimination charge filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

As a result of successful conciliation efforts between the parties, Kwik Trip agreed to provide $35,000 to a former employee and committed to provide additional training on equal employment opportunity, including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) training for all employees and managers to resolve a finding of disability discrimination by the EEOC.

“Under the ADA, employers must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities,” said Victor Chen, an EEOC spokesperson. “As the federal agency tasked with enforcing equal opportunity laws, the EEOC will aggressively pursue all appropriate avenues of relief for victims of disability discrimination.”

According to the EEOC’s investigation, an employee was hired as a full-time guest service/kitchen associate in October 2021. In March 2022, the employee submitted a reasonable accommodation request to modify her work schedule and duties. While Kwik Trip initially intended to accommodate the employee’s medical restrictions, it misinterpreted the reasonable accommodation request and reduced the employee’s full-time work schedule to about nine hours per week, forcing her to resign.

Under the conciliation agreement resolving the charge, the former employee will receive $35,000 in back pay and compensatory damages. Kwik Trip will retain an experienced consultant to train supervisors, managers and HR employees about their responsibilities and employees’ rights under the ADA. Kwik Trip will also provide compliance-related reporting to the EEOC. The EEOC will monitor compliance with these obligations for the next two years.

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

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

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 is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. 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. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.