Rite Aid to Pay $250,000 for Violation of ADA

The Philadelphia Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dealt a blow to the Rite Aid pharmacy, according to a news release on November 7.

Rite Aid will now have to pay $250,000 to settle a discrimination claim brought by a former Rite Aid employee.

The complaint claims that the pharmacy terminated the employee because he had epilepsy and had previously filed a discrimination complaint against the pharmacy for being denied promotions.

The former employee, Christopher Fultz, was an order picker at Rite Aid’s Mid-Atlantic Customer Service Center in Perryman, Maryland. This location falls within the jurisdiction of the EEOC’s Philadelphia office.

Fultz had previously filed a claim with the EEOC. The EEOC looked into the matter and found in favor of Fultz. Shortly after, Fultz alleged that Rite Aid retaliated against him, forcing him to undergo a fitness-for-duty exam with an occupational health doctor. The doctor, Fultz claims, had no experience in treating individuals with epilepsy.

Based on the opinion of this doctor, Rite Aid dismissed Fultz from his job post.

One thing that the EEOC noted was that Rite Aid didn’t even consider accommodating Fultz. They allegedly failed to look into reasonable accommodations and whether such accommodations would have eliminated any safety concerns that Fultz’s disability presented.

Rite Aid also allegedly failed to properly assess whether Fultz’s disability posed a real safety threat to the workplace.

What was most damaging to Rite Aid was the alleged retaliatory behavior of the company, once Fultz had filed his initial EEOC complaint. Here’s a breakdown of the settlement reached with the EEOC:

• Fultz will get $250,000 in monetary damages.
• Rite Aid is enjoined from violating the ADA again.
• Rite Aid is also enjoined from retaliating against employees who complain about discrimination.
• Rite Aid must revise its ADA policies and provide ADA training for managers at the Perryman location.
• Finally, Rite Aid must post a notice on the resolution of the lawsuit and report to the EEOC on its compliance with the items listed above.

Related Resources:

• Philadelphia Employment Lawyers (FindLaw)
• EEOC: Top Five Employment Claims Sued Over in Pennsylvania (FindLaw’s Philadelphia Employment News)
• The Americans With Disabilities Act (FindLaw)