Walmart Fails to Beat ADA Suit Over Lack of ASL Interpreter

Walmart must face the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at trial over allegations the company unlawfully failed to accommodate a deaf applicant with a sign-language interpreter, a district court ruled Thursday.

There remain genuine issues over who’s liable for failing to provide an American Sign Language interpreter for Kaleb Sleeth, Judge Colin Stirling Bruce said in denying summary judgment for Walmart. It’s not clear whether Walmart had a pretextual reason not to hire Sleeth or if the company acted with malice or reckless indifference to his rights.

No one at Walmart “ever contacted Sleeth to set up an interview with ...