Whole Foods Class Action Lawsuit Accuses Company of ADA Violations

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Whole Foods Market Group Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit that claims the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide accommodations to an employee who wanted to return to work following a medical procedure.

Plaintiff Yolanda Toolie says she underwent a spinal fusion procedure in June 2011. According to the Whole Foods class action lawsuit, she had been working for the company since about June 2010 and “performed her job satisfactorily.”

In August 2011, Toolie was cleared to return to work by her doctor, but under the restriction that she could not lift more than 10 pounds. According to the Whole Foods class action lawsuit, the restriction was to remain in place for a few weeks until her doctor reexamined her.

Toolie says she attempted to return to work at Whole Foods, but was informed by the company that it would not permit her to work until she was fully released by her doctor without restrictions.

“Defendant did not discuss with Toolie the possibility of providing her with any reasonable accommodations that would have permitted her to return to work while abiding by her physician-imposed restriction,” the Whole Foods class action lawsuit states.

Toolie states that she would have been able to perform the essential functions of her job, even without an accommodation, from August 2011 until her doctor cleared her to work without restrictions in December 2011.

“As a result of Defendant’s refusal to provide Toolie with any reasonable accommodation in August 2011, Toolie was needlessly forced to remain on unpaid medical leave from that time until December 2011,” at which point Toolie was allowed to return to work at Whole Foods, according to the ADA class action lawsuit.

Whole Foods reportedly did not attempt to engage employees who needed reasonable workplace accommodations in attempt to accommodate their physical limitations, and maintained a policy under which employees were required to have a full release to return to work, even if they were able to fully perform their job functions even without the release.

To make matters worse, Toolie had to undergo surgery to repair a tendon in her bicep and shoulder in May 2012. According to the ADA class action lawsuit, Whole Foods permitted her to take six weeks of unpaid leave to recover from this surgery, but after the six weeks elapsed, the company required her to apply for leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). At this time, Toolie’s doctor had not released her to return to work.

Toolie submitted an application for FMLA leave to Whole Foods, but the company denied her request for medical leave because she had not worked 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months and was therefore ineligible for FMLA leave, according to the Whole Foods class action lawsuit.

Two days after Whole Foods denied her FMLA application, the company terminated Toolie’s employment, the Whole Foods class action lawsuit states.

“As a direct result of Defendant’s refusal to return Toolie to work with restrictions from August 2011 through December 2011, Plaintiff did not qualify for job-protected leave pursuant to the FMLA,” the ADA class action lawsuit asserts. “As a direct result of Defendant’s denial of Plaintiff’s FMLA leave, she was terminated.”

Toolie seeks to represent a Class of Whole Foods employees who, since Sept. 12, 2011, required and requested a reasonable workplace accommodation but were denied that accommodation based on the company’s policy to require employees to be cleared to work without restriction.

Toolie is represented by Alejandro Caffarelli and Madeline K. Engel of Caffarelli & Associates Ltd.

The Whole Foods ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Yolanda Toolie v. Whole Foods Market Group Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-10113, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.