Jury Tells Walmart To Pay $125M To Fired Employee With Down's Syndrome, Judge Sticks To Statutory Limit

An eight-member jury in Wisconsin ordered Walmart to pay over $125 million in damages to a former employee with Down syndrome in a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A judge, however, reduced the damages to the statutory maximum of $300,000.

Marlo Spaeth had been working for the retailer for 16 years when she was fired in July 2015 because of her disability, as per an EEOC statement.

According to the EEOC, Spaeth had consistently received positive performance evaluations from her managers, when her work schedule was between noon to 4 p.m. However, a sudden shift in working hours from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in November 2014 forced her to struggle to keep up with the new routine, reported New York Times.

According to the lawsuit, Spaeth needs to maintain her rigid schedule and any deviation from it could cause a struggle due to her disability. Spaeth would get sick if she did not have her dinner at the same time every evening, reported Associated Press.

Spaeth had asked her employers to adjust her start and end times back to her original schedule. But, Walmart fired her in July 2015 for excessive absenteeism despite her plea for a schedule change. Walmart further turned down Spaeth’s requested to rehire her.

“The substantial jury verdict in this case sends a strong message to employers that disability discrimination is unacceptable in our nation’s workplaces,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows in the statement. “All of those who come forward to ensure the right to a workplace free of discrimination do a service to our nation. ”

Randy Hargrove, Walmart’s spokesperson said that the company does not tolerate any kind of discrimination and accommodates thousands of employees every year. “We often adjust associate schedules to meet our customers’ expectations and while Ms. Spaeth’s schedule was adjusted, it remained within the times she indicated she was available,” Hargrove said. “We’re sensitive to this situation and believe we could have resolved this issue with Ms. Spaeth, however the EEOC’s demands were unreasonable.”

“Employers, no matter how large, have an obligation under the law to evaluate the individual circumstances of employees with disabilities when considering requests for reasonable accommodations,” said Chicago District Director Julianne Bowman.

“Ms. Spaeth’s request was a simple one and denying it profoundly altered her life,” she added.