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Walmart has been hit with a lawsuit accusing the retailer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after it allegedly promised to interview a deaf job applicant, but failed to follow up.
The US Equal Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit on behalf of Kaleb Sleeth in Illinois federal court on Tuesday. In it, the Commission claims that Walmart promised to find an American Sign Language interpreter to interview Sleeth for a position when he inquired at an Illinois location. Sleeth says he checked in a few days later, but Walmart never contacted him about the interview again.
The lawsuit says that Sleeth applied for the job at Walmart in 2019. Sleeth says he used a video relay service that allows people to use sign language to communicate by phone to respond to a call back from the retailer about his application.
Sleeth claims that Walmart representatives said they would look into arranging a job interview with an American Sign Language interpreter, but the interview never materialized despite his inquiries.
The Commission alleges in its lawsuit that Walmart’s failure to accommodate Sleeth’s job application violates the ADA and the Civil Rights Act.
“The ADA clearly requires employers to provide disabled and able-bodied applicants alike the same opportunities to compete for a job, which includes providing reasonable accommodations such as sign language interpreters for deaf applicants at interviews,” Gregory Gochanour, an attorney with the Commission, reportedly said in a statement made in the days after the lawsuit was filed. “Otherwise, an employer could exclude an applicant from consideration even where they are qualified for the job.”
The lawsuit is seeking to hold Walmart responsible for back pay to Sleeth, as well as damages. In addition, the lawsuit demands that Walmart change its employment policies and practices to ensure that job applicants like Sleeth and others with disabilities do not suffer from discrimination during the hiring process.
Do you or a loved one have a disability that has made it difficult to get a job at Walmart or another major company? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
The US Equal Opportunity Commission is represented by in-house attorneys Gwendolyn Young Reams, Gregory Gochanour, Deborah Hamilton, Kelly Bunch, and Jeanne Szromba.
The Walmart Deaf Job Applicant Lawsuit is U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-02080, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
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