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Starbucks Settles EEOC Suit over Firing Woman with Dwarfism
Coffee mammoth Starbucks agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a case in which a barista claimed that the company fired her because of her disability of dwarfism. The barista, Elsa Sallard, alleged that during her orientation at a Starbucks in El Paso, Texas, she requested a stool or step-ladder to assist her in preparing drinks and taking orders. Instead of considering her request or other alternatives, Sallard said, the store fired her that same day, claiming that she posed a "danger" to customers and other employees.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued on Sallard's behalf, alleging that Starbucks violated the provision in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the business. In addition to the $75,000 settlement, Starbucks agreed to train the managers and supervisory employees in its El Paso stores on disability issues. The training will include discussion of reasonable accommodation specifically for disabilities such as dwarfism and the extent of the definition of "disability" under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.
Joel Clark, an EEOC trial attorney, said, “In-house education can be effective toward eliminating assumptions and promoting an interactive process for a more inclusive workforce.” Indeed, training is also the key to avoiding needless litigation and bad publicity. Employers are well-advised to provide ADA training for all supervisory employees and workplace diversity training for all employees to promote an inclusive and ADA-compliant workplace.
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Posted by Ken Grosserode on August 25, 2011 Ken Grosserode, a Managing Legal Editor at WeComply, writes and edits the content for e-learning courseware and related compliance training resources. Earlier in his career, Ken worked for the U.S. Department of Justice after being accepted into the Attorney General's Honors Program. He later practiced law as an associate attorney at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP in San Francisco. Ken holds a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law. |
Tags: ADA, Workplace Dversity
