Retailer Giant Refused to Employ Man Due to His Partial Paralysis, Federal Agency Charges

DETROIT - Family Dollar Stores of Michigan, LLC, a Michigan-based discount retailer which has discount stores throughout the state, violated federal law by failing to employ a man because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Family Dollar refused to employ a man who suffers from left-sided paralysis and wears a brace on his left arm. The man applied for a position at a Family Dollar store in Detroit. After being interviewed, he was offered the position but was told that he could not start work until a few weeks later. However, he was never placed on the schedule and never actually worked for the company, despite his efforts to pursue a start date, the EEOC said. During this same time, the company continued to hire other non-disabled individuals to work as customer service representatives at the same store. Family Dollar claimed that budget constraints played a part in its refusal to hire the man.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After attempting to reach a pre-litigation resolution through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Michigan (EEOC v. Family Dollar Stores of Michigan, LLC, Case No. 4:18-cv-13030). The EEOC is seeking monetary relief for the applicant and an injunction prohibiting the company from engaging in this type of conduct in the future.

"There is no excuse for disability discrimination, and that includes Family Dollar's excuse that it had budget constraints - especially given that it continued to hire customer service representatives," explained EEOC Trial Attorney Nedra Campbell.

Family Dollar of Michigan, LLC is a subsidiary of Family Dollar Stores, Inc., which is a national retailer with headquarters in a suburb of Charlotte, N.C. It operates approximately 7,000 stores throughout the United States.

The EEOC's Detroit Field Office is part of the Indianapolis District Office, which oversees Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and parts of Ohio.