US grocery giant charged with violating ADA

14th September 2009

A subsidiary of American-based grocery firm Supervalu has had charges brought against it by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Jewel-Osco has been accused of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act through its leave policies.

Disabled employees of the organisation are alleged to have been disallowed back into work after taking authorised disability leave if they had any restrictions to them continuing their jobs.

It is also claimed in the EEOC lawsuit that if staff took a year off on leave they were terminated from their position, while other employees were not allowed undertake light duties unless they sustained injury during their work.

According to the EEOC, the grocery enterprise also failed to prevent discrimination when one of its employees with a seizure disorder received defamatory remarks about his condition.

The body recently filed a case against Starbucks for failing to consider Chuck Hannay - who has multiple sclerosis - for a job at the store.