A Walmart in mid-Michigan will revise its Americans with Disabilities Act policies after a man with mobility challenges was not allowed to buy alcohol because his paid aide was underage.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan settled a complaint regarding an allegation that the Mt. Pleasant Walmart failed to make reasonable modifications to its policies so that an individual with a mobility disorder had an equal opportunity to access the goods or services that Walmart offered for sale.
The settlement agreement resolves the investigation, prompted by the complaint of an individual with quadriplegia that he was not allowed to purchase alcohol at the Mt. Pleasant Walmart because his aide who was assisting him with shopping was not over 21 years old.
“Civil rights enforcement is a priority of my office, which includes ensuring that all public accommodations are fully available to all of our residents.” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison said.
“I commend Walmart for agreeing to take these steps to make its stores more accessible to everyone in the Eastern District of Michigan and across the United States.”
Walmart has fully cooperated with the investigation and has agreed to update its corporate ADA policies to clarify its ongoing responsibilities to make reasonable modifications provide live training on its updated ADA policies for store management and Front End Associates at the Mt. Pleasant Walmart store, assign training on its updated ADA policies for store management and front end associate across the United States, and pay damages to the complainant.
The investigation was led by Executive Assistant United States Attorney Luttrell Levingston. The full and fair enforcement of the ADA is a priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan was established in 2010 with the mission of prioritizing federal civil rights enforcement.
For more information on the civil rights efforts, including a copy of the agreement, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/programs/civil-rights.
Those who believe they have been subjected to discrimination or experienced a civil rights violation can submit a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office by email at [email protected] or by phone at (313) 226-9151.
Complaints can also be submitted to the Civil Rights Division through its complaint portal.
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