Inclusion Daily Express -- Supreme Court Drops Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit

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Supreme Court Drops Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 14, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a case that could have clarified whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to give preferential treatment to workers that have been injured on the job.

The court cancelled its decision in Huber v. Wal-Mart Stores 07-480 on Monday, because both sides in the case agreed to settle out of court.

The case involved Pam Huber, who was earning $13 an hour as a dry grocery order filler for a Wal-Mart distribution center in Clarksville, Arkansas, when she injured her right hand and arm in an on-the-job accident.

Huber then requested to be transferred to another position that was open. But Wal-Mart told her to apply for the job and compete like all other workers. The company then hired another worker that it decided was more qualified for the position.

Huber was then placed in a janitorial job, where she earned just $6.20 an hour to start.

Huber successfully sued in federal court, accusing Wal-Mart of violating the ADA and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.

Wal-Mart appealed that decision to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which last May sided with Wal-Mart, writing that the ADA "is not an affirmative action statute" and that "Huber was treated exactly as all other candidates were treated for the Wal-Mart job opening, no worse and no better."

The Supreme Court had agreed last month to hear the case.

The details of the settlement between Huber and Wal-Mart are confidential.

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