ST. LOUIS – Dolgencorp, LLC, which operates Dollar General stores nationwide, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate an employee with disabilities, forced her to quit when she called in sick, and retaliated against her for reporting the conduct, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the lawsuit, the manager at Dollar General’s Olustee, Oklahoma location told the employee, who suffers from panic attacks, that the store would work with the employee’s occasional need for time off. The manager then disciplined the employee for calling in sick due to an anxiety attack. The manager further singled out the employee, disciplining her for conduct other employees also engaged in and told the employee to quit because the manager would not “lose [her job] because of an employee with a “social disability.”
The employee ultimately quit on June 2, 2023, after working there after about a month, due to the manager’s actions, telling the manager and Dollar General’s corporate hotline she could not work somewhere that used her disability against her. In July, the manager told the local police that the employee and her spouse were trespassing at the store and could no longer shop there, forcing the employee to drive over 10 miles to the nearest store to buy essentials, including baby diapers.
Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination and retaliation for reporting it. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Dolgencorp, LLC, Case No. 5:25-cv-00083) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“A person should never fear their job is in jeopardy because they need a reasonable accommodation for the disability,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office. “The ADA ensures equal employment opportunity for everyone, which includes those who ask for accommodations and employees who report disability discrimination to their employer.”
David Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, said, “Retaliating against a former employee who reports disability discrimination is unacceptable. This conduct discourages employees from telling their employer about discrimination, allowing it to persist in their workplace.”
More information about disability discrimination is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.
The EEOC’s St. Louis District office oversees Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and a portion of southern Illinois.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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