Two Days Unpaid Leave is a Reasonable Accommodation for a Disability

The EEOC recently settled a lawsuit against American Woodmark Corporation alleging disability discrimination and a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation.  The employee had asked only for two days of unpaid leave in order to see a doctor to treat her disabilities.  Rather than grant this reasonable accommodation, the company gave the employee, who had worked for American Woodmark for 16 years, attendance points.  These points caused the employee to exceed the company’s allowed number of attendance points even though she had provided a doctor’s note and FMLA forms, and the company used this excuse to terminate her employment.  The alleged conduct is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits disability discrimination and requires employers to provide their employees with reasonable accommodations.  See Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Woodmark Corp., No. 5:19-CV-381 (M.D. Ga.).