FLORIDA – A franchisee of Domino’s Pizza violated federal law when it fired a delivery driver after just one day on the job, following a discussion of his disabilities caused by a wolf attack when he was five years old, Jim Garrity alleged in a lawsuit filed yesterday.
According to the lawsuit, his client – now a 25-year-old man – was injured at age 5 while visiting a wolf rescue sanctuary. The injuries required extensive brain and other surgeries. One lingering side effect of the attack is that he sometimes needs more time to memorize details. Otherwise, he has held a range of ordinary jobs, including positions requiring him to drive during daytime and evening hours. He disclosed his disabilities during the interview process. But during his first day on the job, a coworker became afraid of him after she learned of his disabilities, and immediately complained to management. The next day, he was fired by text message from his boss, saying “…I can’t keep you on due to liability issues.”
In fact, he posed no liability risk whatsoever. But the company’s reaction was typical of employers who stereotype disabled employees. None of the supervisors or owners reached out to him – as the law requires – to understand his limitations and to choose an accommodation that would work for both the employee and the company. Instead, they ran him out the door.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which forbids discrimination because of a person’s disability. Here, the company didn’t even pause to consider whether it actually had any basis to fire him or not. Garrity filed suit in U.S. District Court after attempting to resolve the case through a pre-litigation, administrative conciliation process at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Disability discrimination, especially when based on stereotypes about the disabled, remains a serious problem for employees,” Garrity said. “Employers are not permitted to punish employees who disclose a disability and who can do the job with or without accommodation.”
For more information on disability discrimination and the rights of disabled employees, please visit https://www.jimgarrityonline.com or email us at Jim@JimGarrityOnline.
Categories: Accommodations, ADA Retaliation, Disability Accommodations, Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
Jim Garrity, Esq. - Employee Rights Lawyer 
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