Feds sue O’Reilly Auto Parts for disability discrimination against truck driver who suffered stroke and seizures

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit against a national auto parts retailer over the company’s alleged failure to accommodate a disabled truck driver.

On June 23, the EEOC announced a lawsuit against O’Reilly Auto Parts, accusing the company of disability discrimination against a former truck driver who was employed at the company’s Belleville, Michigan distribution center.

Officials said that O’Reilly hired the employee as a commercial truck driver in 2015.

In the summer of 2022, the employee was hospitalized in an intensive care unit after suffering a stroke and multiple seizures.

The employee was placed on an approved leave of absence through February 2023.

As the end of the leave of absence approached, the employee was advised he would be unable to work as a commercial truck driver for five years. The employee requested that he be transferred to a non-driving position at the distribution center.

“Although he qualified for multiple open and available positions, O’Reilly refused to offer him one of the positions pursuant to a policy which prohibited drivers from being reassigned to distribution centers,” the EEOC said.

The lawsuit alleged that O’Reilly terminated the employee.

The EEOC accuses O’Reilly of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability.

The agency is seeking back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages on behalf of the former employee, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.

“Employers are required under federal law to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, absent undue hardship, including reassignment to an open position,” said Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Indianapolis District. “O’Reilly’s refusal to reassign this employee to an open non-driving position violated the law, and the EEOC will continue to fight disability discrimination.”