Hobby Lobby to pay $50k to settle service dog lawsuit

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby will pay a former employee $50,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

It stemmed from an employee at the Olathe, Kansas who asked for permission to bring her service dog to work.

The employee, according to the EEOC, suffers from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the request of management, the employee provided medical documentation, but was ultimately told she could not bring her service dog to work due to safety issues. After telling the company she could not work without her dog, the employee was fired, according to EEOC.

EEOC filed a lawsuit, claiming the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hobby Lobby settled and is required to pay $50,000 in monetary damages to the former clerk and to adopt and maintain policies, enact procedures, and provide employee training to ensure future compliance with the ADA.

EEOC said Hobby Lobby will have to change its policy to show that service animals can be considered “reasonable accommodations.” The company will also have to notify employees of their right to reasonable accommodation under the ADA and periodically report to the EEOC.

“Service animals provide critical assistance to individuals with a range of physical and mental disabilities,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office. “Allowing service animals into the workplace enables qualified workers to provide for themselves and their families and to productively contribute to their communities and the economy. And, with rare exceptions, it is the law.”

“The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to workers with disabilities which allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs and receive the same privileges and benefits of employment as other workers,” said David Davis, acting director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office. “Employers cannot reject service animals, or any other reasonable accommodation, based on unfounded assumptions regarding safety.”

KRMG has provided Hobby Lobby the opportunity to provide a statement and is awaiting a response.