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June 13, 2024
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced a settlement of a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit that it filed against the nation’s largest rural lifestyle retailer, which allegedly disclosed an employee’s confidential medical information, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and terminated her because of her disability and in retaliation for her complaints.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an employee (Jane Doe) of Tractor Supply Company was born with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HIV is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When company managers refused to accept Doe’s explanation for being unavailable to work due to previously-scheduled medical appointments and tests, Doe disclosed her confidential medical information to stop their persistent questioning. The company then publicized that confidential medical information to Doe’s co-workers and customers – persons to whom the ADA does not permit disclosure.
The coworkers and customers then allegedly harassed Doe because of her condition. Specifically, according to the EEOC’s Complaint, company managers and employees called Doe a “contagion” or “contamination” of the store at which she worked and said that the store should be “under quarantine.” Managers and employees went out of their way to avoid Doe due to unfounded fears of HIV transmission. Managers told Doe that her condition “made everybody highly uncomfortable.” Customers asked Doe about her medical condition as she worked.
When Doe complained about discrimination and hostile work environment, the company did not conduct an adequate investigation, did not discipline the harassers, allowed the harassment to continue, disciplined Doe without justification, and ultimately terminated Doe’s employment.
The two-year consent decree settling the suit requires Tractor Supply Company to pay $75,000 to Doe, enhance its policies concerning disability discrimination and retaliation, and train annually its employees, nationwide, about disability discrimination and retaliation.
The case is EEOC v. Tractor Supply Company, No. 2:22-cv-00131-KS-MTP (S.D. Miss).
Employers: You violate the ADA when you (1) disclose an employee’s confidential medical information; (2) discriminate against individuals with a disability; (3) subject an individual to a hostile work environment because of their disability; and (4) retaliate against an employee who opposes unlawful conduct.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
