CHICAGO — Home Depot has settled allegations by the federal government that the home improvement retailer fired an employee with irritable bowels and fibromyalgia for leaving her post because she was not provided her disability-related emergency break.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges Home Depot violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for not providing the employee working in its Peru, Illinois, store with her emergency break and fired her for leaving her post unattended.
"The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities that enable them to perform their jobs," EEOC Chicago District Office regional attorney Greg Gochanour said in a statement. "It is regrettable that instead of working with the employee to help secure coverage of her post in the event of a disability-related emergency restroom break, Home Depot fired her when, despite her best efforts, she was unable to find coverage."
The settlement includes Home Depot paying $100,000 in monetary relief and providing ADA training to managers, supervisors and HR personnel at its Illinois store. Home Depot must also keep a record of all accommodation and disability-related requests complaints at the store and to report to the EEOC every six months for the next two years.