Wawa general manager's firing violated ADA, suit says

A former general manager for Wawa convenience stores located in the Lehigh Valley says

he lost his job after the company failed to accommodate the disabilities he suffered in a car accident, according to a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Brandon Moyer, of Emmaus, Pa., says that his bosses at Wawa violated parts of the American with Disabilities Act when they refused to modify the store schedule to allow him time to seek regular treatment for his injuries. He seeks unspecified damages for lost back pay and future wages, court fees and punitive damages.

According to the suit, Moyer began working for Wawa as a general manager in March 2007. On Oct. 28, 2007, Moyer was involved in a car accident that injured his left knee and leg, plus caused nerve damage. He kept out of work in disability leave until December 2008.

When Moyer returned to work, his employers were made aware of the fact that he needed continued rehabilitation on his leg, requiring frequent doctor visits.

In October 2010, Moyer was transferred to work at the Wawa located on College Hill in Easton, Pa. However, the complaint says, he experienced difficulty receiving the necessary time off for rehab clinic visits. He made repeated appeals to his managers for more flexibility in his hours, but they did not comply, the claim says. Moyer began missing his rehab appointments, and he claims that the pain began to increase.

In March 2011, Moyer's employment was terminated, but the suit says the official basis for the firing has been wrongly characterized as gross neglect. According to the complaint, Moyer witnessed another employee give away a free cup of coffee to a friend. After confronting the employee, Moyer decided not to fire him based on his otherwise clean history with the store.

Moyer did inform his supervisors of the situation, however, and a few days later he lost his job. He contends that the minor incident was just an excuse to remove Moyer from his position.

The plaintiff is represented by Adam Meshkov of the firm Meshkov & Breslin.

The federal case ID number is 5:14-cv-03968-JLS.