Walmart Beats Driver’s Retaliation Claim Over Sleep Apnea Tests

A former Walmart Inc. driver’s “stubborn insistence” that he didn’t have sleep apnea and shouldn’t have to use a breathing device to help him sleep wasn’t protected opposition to disability discrimination, the Southern District of Ohio ruled.

Joe Allman therefore was unable to prove retaliation in violation of the Ohio Civil Rights Act, “which mirrors” federal law, the court said Nov. 14. The anti-retaliation provisions of both laws only protect workers who believe in good faith that they are opposing prohibited discrimination, the court said.

Allman had been driving for Walmart since 2006, and was first diagnosed with sleep apnea ...