Walmart Worker’s Suit Over Medical Leave, Disability Revived (1)

Walmart Stores Inc. may have violated federal disability and medical leave laws when it fired a distribution center worker after she declined a temporary light-duty assignment that she couldn’t travel to because of a foot injury, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

The company says Stefany Hazelett’s termination was spurred by her refusal to work the light duty it offered her as an accommodation for her disability and her failure to apply for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

But a jury could find Walmart’s set up for administering FMLA leave requests and workers’ compensation—which Hazelett was granted—confused her and ...