• Ignoring Accommodation Requests: A Costly Mistake in Disability Compliance
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• Cutting Edge Supply, a California-based construction supply company operating in Arizona, has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
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• What Happened?
• A welder with diabetes requested a reasonable accommodation: periodic snack breaks to help manage his blood sugar levels. Instead of granting the request—or even initiating the required interactive process—the company denied the accommodation and later terminated the employee after he raised concerns about discrimination.
• Why It Matters
• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers are required to:
• • Provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities (unless it creates an undue hardship)
• • Engage in a good-faith, interactive process
• • Avoid retaliating against individuals who assert their rights
• This case is a clear example of what can go wrong when those steps are skipped—and how expensive it can become.
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• Key Takeaways for Employers
• • Interactive Process Is a Must – Ignoring a request or assuming it’s unreasonable without discussion is a legal risk.
• • Small Accommodations Can Have Big Impact – A simple snack break might seem minor, but for someone with diabetes, it’s essential.
• • Retaliation = Legal Trouble – Firing or disciplining someone for raising a concern is one of the fastest paths to a lawsuit.
• • Education & Training Are Critical – Your managers need to know how to recognize, respond to, and properly handle accommodation requests.
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• How HRBP.co Can Help
• • Reviewing and updating accommodation policies
• • Training managers on ADA compliance and best practices
• • Supporting HR teams in responding to real-time accommodation requests
• • Creating HR systems that balance legal compliance with people-first leadership
• • Let’s make sure your business is proactive, not reactive.
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• Final Thought
• Disability accommodations don’t have to be complex—but failing to handle them correctly can be. If you're unsure whether your team is equipped to manage these situations, let’s talk.
• Source:
• EEOC Press Release – Cutting Edge Supply to Pay $150,000 to Settle Disability Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit
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When Workplace Complaints Aren’t Taken Seriously: An $11.25 Million Lesson for Employers
An employee raises concerns about inappropriate comments in the workplace. Management receives the complaints, but the underlying issues aren't adequately addressed. Later, that employee is disciplined and ultimately terminated for attendance issues—even though evidence suggests other employees with similar or worse attendance records were treated differently.
That situation became an expensive lesson for Equinox .
Former Equinox employee Röbynn Europe, a Black woman who worked as a fitness manager at the company's East 92nd Street location in New York, sued the company after alleging that she experienced race and gender discrimination and a hostile work environment. In 2023, a federal jury sided with Europe and awarded her approximately $11.25 million, including $10 million in punitive damages.
For employers, this case offers an important reminder: receiving a workplace complaint is only the beginning. What happens next matters just as much.
What Happened?
Europe joined Equinox in 2018 and was promoted to a management position overseeing approximately 15 employees. According to her lawsuit, she experienced inappropriate and offensive behavior from another employee, including vulgar comments about Black women's bodies and resistance to having her as a supervisor.
Europe reported concerns about the workplace environment. She later alleged that instead of properly addressing those concerns, the company began targeting her through its attendance and punctuality policies.
Equinox maintained that Europe's termination was based on attendance and stated that she had been late numerous times during her employment. Europe did not deny having attendance issues. However, a significant issue in the case was how the attendance policy was being applied.
Evidence presented at trial reportedly included employee swipe-in records showing that other managers had worse attendance records but were not disciplined in the same way. Europe was ultimately terminated in September 2019.
The jury found in her favor on claims involving race and gender discrimination and hostile work environment, resulting in an award that included $1.25 million in compensatory damages, $16,000 in back pay, and $10 million in punitive damages.
It's also important to distinguish the allegations from the claims that ultimately reached the jury. Europe had alleged retaliation after complaining about discrimination, but the court dismissed her retaliation claim before trial. The jury verdict focused on the remaining discrimination and hostile-work-environment claims.
The HR Lesson: Consistency Matters
One of the biggest takeaways from this case isn't that employers can't enforce attendance policies. They absolutely can.
The problem comes when a legitimate policy appears to be enforced differently depending on the employee.
If one employee receives written warnings and termination for attendance while other similarly situated employees regularly violate the same expectations without consequences, the employer may have a difficult time explaining that difference later.
This is why consistency is such an important part of HR documentation and disciplinary decisions.
Before issuing significant corrective action or moving forward with a termination, employers should ask: How have we handled similar situations with other employees? Are we following our normal process? Is there documentation supporting the decision? Would we make the same decision if this employee had never raised a workplace concern?
Those questions can uncover potential risk before a decision is finalized.
Employee Complaints Need More Than an Acknowledgment
Another important lesson is how workplace complaints are handled.
When an employee reports discrimination, harassment, inappropriate comments, or other potentially unlawful behavior, simply acknowledging the complaint isn't enough. Employers should determine what happened, document the concerns, conduct an appropriate investigation, reach a conclusion based on the available information, and take corrective action when necessary.
Managers should also understand that an employee who raises a complaint should not suddenly find themselves under a level of scrutiny that isn't applied to everyone else.
That doesn't mean an employee who makes a complaint becomes exempt from performance expectations or workplace policies. It means employers need to be especially thoughtful about ensuring subsequent employment decisions are legitimate, consistent, and well documented.
Don't Let Documentation Become an Afterthought
Documentation is often discussed as a way to "protect the company," but good documentation serves a much bigger purpose.
It helps an employer make better decisions.
A well-maintained corrective action history allows HR and leadership to compare similar situations, identify inconsistencies, confirm whether expectations were clearly communicated, and determine whether the company's policies are actually being followed in practice.
The goal shouldn't be to create paperwork after a decision has already been made. The documentation should help support the decision-making process itself.
What Employers Can Take Away From This Case
The Equinox case is a good reminder that having policies isn't enough. Employers need managers who understand how to apply those policies fairly and consistently.
When an employee raises a discrimination or harassment concern, take it seriously and respond promptly. When discipline is being considered, look at how similar situations have been handled across the organization. When termination is on the table, review the history before making the final decision.
And perhaps most importantly, don't assume that a legitimate reason such as "attendance" automatically eliminates discrimination concerns. If the same attendance standards aren't being applied consistently, the underlying policy may not provide the protection an employer expects.
Where HRBP.co Can Help
Managing employee complaints, investigations, corrective actions, and terminations can become complicated quickly—especially when multiple issues overlap.
At HRBP.co, we work with employers to put practical HR processes in place before problems escalate. That includes helping businesses navigate employee complaints, workplace investigations, corrective actions, policy enforcement, manager training, and difficult termination decisions.
Good HR isn't about making every workplace problem complicated. It's about slowing down long enough to ask the right questions, document what happened, and make a fair and defensible decision.
If your company needs help strengthening its HR practices or navigating a difficult employee situation, connect with HRBP.co.
Source: Aimee Picchi, “Black gym employee says she was fired after calling out racism. A jury awarded her $11.3 million,” CBS News, May 26, 2023.
CBS News article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/equinox-racism-lawsuit-robynn-europe-11-3-million-award/