EEOC Sues Lowe’s For Disability Discrimination

The EEOC filed a lawsuit against Lowe’s, the home improvement company, alleging that it failed to accommodate and demoted an employee who suffers from a spinal cord injury.  This disability substantially limits his ability to use his right arm.  Due to his disability, the employee cannot use power equipment requiring two-handed use, but the employee was previously able to assign that task to other employees whom he then supervised.  The lawsuit claims that Lowe’s ceased providing the employee with this accommodation and then demoted him and cut his pay by more than $4 per hour.  This alleged conduct is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employees to provide reasonable accommodations unless it would create an undue burden on the employer.  See EEOC v. Lowe’s Cos., No. 4:17-cv-02589 (N.D. Tex.).