La Crosse-based Kwik Trip agreed to pay a former employee $35,000 to settle a worker’s disability discrimination complaint, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
In a complaint filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2022, the employee alleged that Kwik Trip failed to make a reasonable accommodation for her disability.
EEOC’s investigation found that the employee was hired as a full-time guest service/kitchen employee in October of 2021, and in March 2022, the employee submitted “a reasonable accommodation request” to modify her work schedule and responsibilities.
While EEOC concluded that Kwik Trip initially intended to accommodate the employee’s medical restrictions, it said the company “misinterpreted the reasonable accommodation request and reduced the employee’s full-time work schedule to about nine hours per week, forcing her to resign.”
The agreement will secure $35,000 in backpay and compensatory damages for the employee, and Kwik Trip will retain a consultant to train supervisors, managers and human resources workers about their duties and employees’ rights under the ADA.
The company will also provide compliance-related reporting to the EEOC, which will be monitored over the next two years.
