Failure to Reasonably Accommodate a Sitting Restriction

Piercing Pagoda has reportedly agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claimed the company fired manager Rose Gravel because of her disabilities:  fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease.  Gravel requested a reasonable accommodation that she be permitted to sit for 15 minutes each hour.  Gravel also received a clearance to work from her doctor after she took FMLA leave with the restriction that the company permit her to take sitting breaks throughout her work shifts.  Zale refused Gravel’s request for accommodation and required that she stand for the duration of her work shifts.  The alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against employees because of their disabilities.  See EEOC v. Zale Delaware, Inc., No. 4:15-cv-00149 (E.D.N.C. 2015).