AutoZone Violated ADA Through Failure To Accommodate Manager With Back Injury

A federal district court jury reasonably concluded that AutoZone Inc. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by forcing a retail sales parts manager with a back injury to mop the store’s floor and properly awarded punitive damages for a knowing violation of the ADA, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois ruled Nov. 8 (EEOC v. AutoZone Inc.).

Denying AutoZone’s motions for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, the court said sufficient evidence supports the jury’s findings that mopping the floor was not an “essential function” of former parts manager John ...